A driver who shot and killed a youth baseball coach in a fit of road rage has been denied an appeal after claiming the jury was too white.
Jamal Lindsey Smith, 36, was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 for first-degree murder after killing Jay Boughton with a single bullet in Plymouth, Minnesota, on July 6, 2021.
He was captured after a two-month investigation when detectives found a Facebook video he posted showing a gun inside a car that matched the suspect vehicle.
Smith’s defense argued at trial that he could not have accurately shot Boughton in the head and neck while driving, suggesting it was a passenger who fired the shots.
Jamal Lindsey Smith, 36, was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 for first-degree crimes.
Jay Boughton, a coach with the Armstrong Cooper Youth Baseball Association, was killed by a single gunshot in Plymouth, Minnesota, on July 6, 2021.
In his appeal, he went on to argue that prosecutors “failed to present sufficient evidence to prove that he fired the shot that killed Boughton.”
But he also claimed there were not enough black people on the jury and the judge denied his objections to the lack of diversity.
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed all of his appeals and upheld the life sentence he is serving away from his native Chicago.
“Because Smith failed to meet his burden on each of the new claims at trial and because the only reasonable inference supported by the proven circumstances – when considered as a whole – is that Smith fired the fatal shot, we affirm the judgment of conviction,” the court wrote in its ruling.
The judges, however, said the lack of diversity in jury pools was a legitimate problem and asked the Minnesota legislature to increase juror pay from $20 to $100 per day.
“Ensuring that people of color serve on jurors is essential to the fair resolution of cases and to public confidence in our legal system,” they wrote.
Boughton’s car, with him slumped behind the wheel, crashed into a fence and crashed into the parking lot of an apartment building.
Smith was captured after a two-month investigation when detectives found a Facebook video he posted showing a gun inside a car that matched the suspect vehicle.
Smith claimed there were not enough black people on the jury and the judge denied his objections to the lack of diversity.
The court noted that when the problem is not recognized and addressed, “that failure eventually turns into systematic exclusion.”
Boughton, a coach with the Armstrong Cooper Youth Baseball Association, was driving home on U.S. 169 with his 16-year-old son, Harrison, after a game.
Harrison testified that Harris’ rented Chevy Suburban “was driving fast, getting close enough to cause us to swerve out of the way” next to them.
He said his father honked his horn and made an obscene gesture at the driver, and seconds later he heard glass breaking and saw a hole in the window.
Boughton’s car, with him slumped behind the wheel, crashed through a fence and into the parking lot of an apartment building. Harrisons called 911 and performed CPR.
Police found the abandoned Suburban and video of the cars driving side-by-side on the highway, but struggled for weeks to identify the driver.
The driver of the suspicious SUV was eventually found on a gas station’s security cameras and identified as Smith.
They then searched for him on social media and found a video showing him displaying cash and a gun in what appeared to be the same car, with two passengers.
The Springfield Armory Model XD .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol Smith was waving matched the bullet that killed Boughton.
The Springfield Armory Model XD .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol Smith was waving matched the bullet that killed Boughton.
Another view of the gun on Smith’s lap in the car during the video.
Police found the abandoned Suburban and video of the cars driving side-by-side on the highway, but struggled for weeks to identify the driver.
Smith was arrested in Decatur, Illinois, on August 321, 2021, and charged with first-degree murder, among other crimes.
“This was really looking for a needle in a haystack,” Plymouth Police Chief Erik Fadden said at the time, adding that it took 1,500 man hours to solve the case.
“Our detectives never stopped investigating, working, knocking on doors and reviewing video after video. And finally, every now and then, you get a little respite.”
Smith’s last post was: ‘Sometimes it’s your friends who keep your enemies informed about you… Be careful.’
After Smith was found guilty on all counts, a juror told reporters that the jury had no doubt he fired the shot, but deliberated on whether he intended to kill.
“The defendant was driving at a speed of between 60 and 70 miles per hour on the highway, in the dark and during a rainstorm,” they said at the time.
Boughton’s car was wrecked in the car park of the apartment block where he crashed.
Smith was arrested in Decatur, Illinois, on August 321, 2021, and charged with first-degree murder, among other crimes.
‘In order to shoot the victim, he had to control his vehicle. He had to reach through the passenger. Somehow, the window rolled down and he shot the victim. I mean, that takes a lot of effort.
“It wasn’t a coincidence. There were things he did before the shooting that indicated to us that he had intentions to do this.”
Smith’s fate was sealed when jurors were shown a video of Smith and his friends in high spirits just hours after the shooting, when they went to a bar and drank heavily.
“One juror watched the video again and changed his vote. If it was an accidental shooting, how could he have been celebrating?” the juror said.
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