Jury convicts man in shooting that killed a man, injured another in Albert Lea
Mugshot of Ben Vidal Moreno (Courtesy of the Freeborn County Sheriff's Office)
After a week-and-a-half-long jury trial, an Albert Lea man was convicted of murder and attempted murder after a summer 2022 shooting that he fled.
Ben Vidal Moreno, 33, was convicted of one count of second-degree murder, one count of second-degree attempted murder and one count of ineligible position of a firearm.
The shooting, which killed Juan Vasquez and injured Marco Posada, happened just outside Albert Lea in August 2022.
According to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, Moreno fired a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot into an SUV Vasquez and Posada were in on Aug. 9. Vasquez then got out of the SUV and walked up to Moreno before Moreno shot him in the chest with a rifle.
Vasquez was later declared dead as a result of the gunfire.
Moreno fled the scene and was found more than a day later at a rural property in Iowa. Moreno is not allowed to possess a firearm due to past felony convictions.
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Investigators say Moreno and Vasquez had previously exchanged threats to kill one another due to a fight in which Moreno was accused of stealing a package of methamphetamine.
Moreno is set to be sentenced on May 30 at 3:30 p.m.