Man discovered responsible of homicide in Twin Cities street rage killing

Up to date: 6:35 p.m.

A Minneapolis jury on Thursday discovered a Chicago man responsible of homicide within the taking pictures demise of one other motorist final summer time on a Twin Cities freeway.

Jamal Smith was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree homicide throughout a drive-by taking pictures and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Earlier than studying the verdicts, Hennepin County Decide Nicole Engisch urged the household of motorist Jay Boughton to maintain “a poker face” and never react audibly. The household crammed the entire gallery seats. They quietly sobbed on the verdict.

Within the courthouse foyer, Boughton’s widow Kristin Robinson Boughton instructed reporters that her household has navigated the emotional trauma of the final yr by selecting to not be offended.

“I wish to first say that this household has stayed within the mild. That has been our guiding power,” Robinson Boughton mentioned. “We’ve stayed out of anger and we’ve stayed within the mild. My kids Harrison and Amalie have energy and braveness. They hold me going.”

Prosecutors mentioned Smith and two buddies drove from Chicago to the Twin Cities on July 6, 2021. In Plymouth, Smith, who was driving, tried to get in the identical U.S. Freeway 169 lane as Boughton, a youth baseball workforce coach getting back from a sport along with his son.

Site visitors digicam video confirmed that Smith had loads of area to get round Boughton’s pickup however that Smith selected to confront Boughton’s truck, mentioned Assistant Hennepin County Legal professional Dan Allard.

After Smith pulled into Boughton’s lane, Boughton honked and flipped his center finger at Smith, who pulled his SUV again to drive alongside Boughton after which opened hearth, prosecutors mentioned.

Through the trial, jurors heard testimony from Boughton’s 16-year-old son, Harrison, who mentioned he heard a loud noise and noticed the driving force’s facet window shatter.

Bullets struck Boughton’s head and neck, and his pickup crashed into the ditch.

Forensic specialists testified that they discovered Smith’s DNA and gunshot residue contained in the SUV recovered by police, which a Chicago rental automotive firm had reported stolen. Smith additionally left a photograph ID and a receipt along with his title on it.

Throughout his closing assertion Tuesday, Smith’s lawyer Emmett Donnelly mentioned prosecutors’ gunshot residue proof was defective, and social media movies of Smith holding a gun previous to the taking pictures didn’t show that he killed Boughton.

Donnelly famous that others within the video have been additionally holding weapons. He argued that it might have been troublesome for his shopper to shoot precisely from a shifting automobile within the rain.

Smith mentioned earlier within the week that he was not the shooter, and that considered one of his passengers fired the gun as an alternative. He mentioned he remembered listening to a increase from contained in the automobile.

Whereas prosecutors mentioned all through the trial that the proof factors to Smith because the shooter, Allard reminded jurors that underneath Minnesota legislation, anybody who aids or conspires with one other to commit homicide is simply as responsible as the one that pulled the set off. 

Prosecutors haven’t charged anybody else within the case. 

In Minnesota, first diploma premeditated homicide carries an computerized sentence of life in jail with out the potential for parole. However Smith was convicted of intentional, although not premeditated homicide. Meaning his sentence is prone to be life with the potential for supervised launch after 30 years.

Smith stays jailed forward of his sentencing listening to.