Guilty Verdict in High Profile Minnesota Road Rage Case

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Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Hennepin County jury today convicted a Chicago man of charges stemming from a deadly road rage incident last July in a Minneapolis suburb.

After deliberating for about 16 hours over the past several days, the jury found 34-year-old Jamal Smith guilty of first and second-degree murder for the death of 56-year-old Jay Boughton. He was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

It took investigators about two months to identify and arrest Smith after Boughton was shot to death while he was driving on Highway 169 in Plymouth on the night of July 6, 2021. The criminal complaint indicated the youth baseball coach was headed home after helping to coach his son's baseball game

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman commented after the verdict was read this afternoon in the Hennepin County Courtroom. "Difficult cases like this one show that random violence will not be tolerated, and we will take every step to ensure justice for victims and their families."

A first-degree murder conviction carries a sentence of life in prison. A sentencing date in the high-profile case has not been set.