A 20-year-old Brooklyn Park man said he was wrestling for a gun in a Brooklyn Center motel when it went off, killing an 18-year-old earlier this month, according to charges.

Cedric Lamar Smith said he and Allie Campbell of St. Cloud were fighting over the gun in a Quality Inn Motel at 1800 James Circle in Brooklyn Center, according to a criminal complaint filed late Thursday. Smith, who has a previous felony conviction and not allowed to have a gun, was charged with possessing ammunition or a firearm. He was not charged with a crime involving Campbell's shooting.

He is currently in custody for allegedly violating his parole on the previous criminal conviction, when he beat a man in April 2016 with a tire iron in Brooklyn Park.

Campbell's mother, Heidi Campbell, said Thursday that her daughter would still be alive if not for the gun.

"If he didn't have that gun, my child wouldn't be on the floor, lying in a pool of blood," she said.

According to the charges released Thursday, Smith and Campbell went to the room on Feb. 11 to buy marijuana from a dealer. That person told police that Smith and Campbell went into the motel room bathroom when the dealer heard a thud, causing Smith to run out of the room repeatedly saying they needed to get out of there. The dealer went into the bathroom and saw Campbell "moving around," but Smith said "she was gone, she was dead," according to criminal charges.

The dealer grabbed the marijuana while his girlfriend grabbed the money. Smith started shaking the dealer, saying he would be an accomplice to murder and they would get 25 years to life in prison.

The dealer's girlfriend told police that she was sleeping in the room when she heard the gun shot and saw Smith come out of the bathroom covered in blood. They ran to the dealer's car, where Smith later told the dealer that he tried getting the gun from Campbell when it went off.

When police arrived at the motel, they found Campbell's blood coming from the right side of her head. They also found about a pound of marijuana and a scale.

Smith wouldn't talk to police, but after he was arrested and in a squad car with another suspect in the case, said the two had to stick to the same story: Campbell had the gun, was drunk and held the gun up to her chin.

In recorded jail phone calls, Smith said that Campbell killed herself, and that the only mistake he made was running. He also said she was playing with the gun not knowing it was loaded.

Brandon Stahl • 612-673-4626