Jury finds man guilty of fleeing police during 4th of July firework incident on Boom Island

Krystal Frasier KSTP
Courtesy of Hennepin County Jail

A jury has found a Minneapolis man guilty of one out of the four charges filed against him after fireworks were shot out of a vehicle at police last year on the Fourth of July.

Iyub Qays Ali, 21, was initially charged last summer with one felony count of fleeing police in a vehicle, one felony count of third-degree riot and two misdemeanor fifth-degree assault charges.

On Thursday, jurors announced they had found Ali guilty only of fleeing police.

According to the criminal complaint, police responded to a call of people gathering and shooting off fireworks at Boom Island Park on July 4, just before midnight. Law enforcement arrived, and shortly after saw mortar fireworks being discharged at a police squad car from a Dodge Charger, the complaint states. The car then fled the area.

Police attempted to stop the vehicle, noting the driver dropped a box of fireworks as he drove past a squad car. Police did not pursue the vehicle but noted its license plate, according to court records.

The complaint states that a week later, on July 12, Minneapolis police stopped the same Dodge Charge for a traffic violation and identified the driver as Ali. Police then confirmed Ali matched the description of the suspect on July 4.

Court records say Ali admitted to being in the area of Boom Island with the Dodge Charger on July 4 but denied that fireworks were launched from his car.

The complaint says police reviewed cell phone video of the incident, which “clearly shows fireworks being launched from the driver’s side of the Dodge Charger.”

Ali’s sentencing has been set for the afternoon of March 28.

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