Reward offered in unsolved 2020 shooting of innocent driver in St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Saint Paul police released new surveillance photos from a deadly December 2020 shooting that killed an innocent motorist.

Jeffery Mintz was killed while driving, just blocks from home in the capital city. Investigators have now run out of leads and are hoping fresh photos and a new $10,000 reward will get people talking about the case again.

For the Mintz family, more than a year later, they are still searching for answers. In fact, the family is teaming up with CrimeStoppers of Minnesota to offer the $10,000 reward for information in the case that leads to an arrest. Mintz’s son tells FOX 9 aside from closure, he’s also concerned someone so brazen could kill again.

 "I don’t know. I will miss him with everything. I miss him every day," said the victim’s son Lee Mintz.

Lee Mintz shared an incredible bond with his dad, Jeff, through their love of music. After Jeff Mintz’s killing, his son still cherishes those moments before his dad’s voice was silent forever, some 14 months ago.

"I still hear him singing in my head all the time," said Lee.

Saint Paul police have said Jeffery Mintz was in his car, southbound on Snelling, approaching the busy University Avenue intersection, the evening of December 16, 2020. In newly released photos, a minivan is seen running a red light, in connection to the shooting.

Mintz was struck in the back before crashing into a bus shelter and calling 911 for help. He died at the hospital a couple of hours later; authorities have never found the gunman.

"It’s very frustrating," said St. Paul Police Investigator John Keating. "The randomness has certainly increased the complexity trying to solve this."

Keating tells FOX 9 they figure the van is an early-to-mid 2000s Dodge or Chrysler minivan. With zero leads, all this time later, they’re hoping these photos and a $10,000 reward funded in part by the Mintz family might convince someone to come forward.

"There's no getting him back," said Lee. "There's no justice at the end of this. The only thing that I'm, I am hoping for is accountability. I want whoever did this to be, you know, to face the consequences of what they did."