AURORA, Colo.—A Wyoming man accused of killing his former roommate in a money dispute is scheduled to stand trial Monday.
Twenty-two-year old Corey Ray Albat faces a first-degree murder charge in Aurora, Colo. Prosecutors say Albat shot his former roommate dead in Aurora last May after a money argument.
Albat has pleaded not guilty in the death of 23-year-old Kyle Lathrop. The two drove to Aurora from their hometown of Rock Springs, Wyo. The men had formerly been roommates.
Authorities say that Albat owed Lathrop money. Albat was arrested in Hays, Kan., on a Greyhound bus headed from Colorado to Nebraska the day after the shooting, on May 10, 2009. Albat was extradited to Colorado.
According to court documents obtained by The Aurora Sentinel, Albat was staying with relatives in Aurora. The relatives told police he was acting strangely the night of the shooting.
At the relatives’ house, authorities found a .40-caliber handgun inside a clear plastic bag. The gun had been buried beneath a porch and covered with sticks and twigs, according to the affidavit.
Prosecutors say that last spring, Lathrop wanted to meet with Albat because Albat owed him money. It wasn’t clear how much Albat owed Lathrop or why.
When they met, though, Albat didn’t have the money. Authorities say that Lathrop warned him that he’d be carrying a gun next time they met. Prosecutors believe that on the next meeting, Albat shot Lathrop.
Albat’s trial in Arapahoe County District Court is expected to last three days.
