Defense asks judge to dismiss indictment against suspect in fatal Hwy. 169 shooting

The defense attorneys for a man accused of killing a youth baseball coach last summer during a drive-by shooting on Highway 169 have asked a judge to throw out a grand jury indictment.

A grand jury indicted 34-year-old Jamal Smith in October on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm in connection with the killing of 56-year-old Jay Boughton on July 6 in Plymouth.

A motion filed in Hennepin County District Court on Monday claims the grand jury process that resulted in Smith’s indictment was tainted, both procedurally and through the evidence presented to the jurors.

Attorneys Emmett Donnelly and Kellen Dotson point out that one juror was on their cell phone during the proceedings. While the juror said they had just checked their email and had not sent any correspondence, the defense took issue with state prosecutors not investigating the matter further.

The defense also argued that the jurors had been exposed to media coverage that related “precise details about many aspects of the case” that may have made an impression on them before prosecutors had begun presenting evidence. The filing states 14 of the 18 grand jurors said they had seen news coverage of the case and that one juror had enough prior knowledge to ask a witness to clarify whether the firearm found on Smith during his arrest was the same as the alleged murder weapon.

Smith’s attorneys also claim that before the grand jury proceedings were underway, a woman told prosecutors that a witness had lied in her testimony to police about the extent of her interactions with Smith and that the witness “had only gotten involved because she wanted reward money.”

The filing further argues that a witness, Brandon Smothers, who claimed to be in the backseat of the vehicle Smith was driving during the shooting perjured himself. Smothers testified that he had not held the handgun used in the shooting and did not know what happened to it, despite cell phone video recorded the day after which shows him holding a gun that appears to match the alleged murder weapon.

Prosecutors’ failure to present images of him holding that weapon to the grand jury amounted to withholding exculpatory evidence, the defense claims in the filing, and their reliance on his word alone materially affected the grand jury’s impression of the case.

“Without Mr Smothers’ testimony, the State would have asked the grand jurors to believe that Mr. Smith made an incredible — nearly impossible — shot,” the filing states, elaborating that Smith would have had to juggle driving at a high rate of speed, signaling a lane change, rolling down the passenger side window, shooting the gun while missing the person sitting in the passenger seat and hitting Boughton “squarely in the head” — all while it was dark and rainy.

“It has been noted that ‘a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich, if that’s what you wanted,'” the attorneys wrote in the filing. “Surely the legal system of Minnesota rises above this shameful stereotype, and the grand jury proceedings are treated as more than a legal formality.”

Motion hearings have been scheduled for Feb. 7 and March 4.

Smith remains in custody at the Hennepin County Jail. His bail is set at $3.5 million.