PLYMOUTH, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Hennepin County grand jury on Thursday indicted a Chicago man accused of shooting and killing a youth baseball coach along Highway 169 in Plymouth earlier this year for first-degree murder.
Jamal Smith, 33, was initially charged with second-degree intentional murder and aiding an offender in the shooting death of Jay Boughton, 56, on July 6. In addition to the new first-degree murder charge, Smith was also indicted with second-degree murder for a drive-by shooting and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
First-degree murder carries a possible sentence of life in prison.
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$1.5M bail set for alleged shooter in Highway 169 incident
The suspected gunman in the Highway 169 deadly shooting that claimed the life of a youth baseball coach in July made his first court appearance in Hennepin County Thursday.
Prosecutors say a brief altercation between the two drivers preceded the deadly shooting. Smith’s SUV moved close to Boughton’s vehicle on the highway. Boughton gestured at Smith, who then pulled his vehicle even with Boughton’s and shot into it.
Traffic cameras show a silver SUV driving erratically and at a high rate of speed near Boughton’s vehicle shortly before the shooting, according to the charges.
A Hennepin County judge ordered Smith's jail be raised to $3.5 million. He will make his first court appearance on the first-degree murder charge Friday at 1:30 p.m.