Man Who Killed Youth Baseball Coach In Road Rage Shooting Sentenced To Life In Prison

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A Chicago man was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison after he was convicted of fatally shooting youth baseball coach Jay Boughton during a road rage incident in Plymouth, according to reports.

Jamal L. Smith was found guilty July 21 by a Hennepin County jury of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and felony gun possession, according to the county attorney’s office.

Smith, 34, shot Boughton the night of July 6, 2021, while the two men were traveling south in separate vehicles on Highway 169 in Plymouth, according to police, who said the suspect fled and who arrested Smith several weeks later in Illinois.

Smith and his attorney adamantly denied Smith’s guilt Tuesday, with Smith calling the case “a witchhunt” and his lawyer, Emmett Donnelly, citing “a host of legal problems,” including a jury that did not represent Hennepin County’s population, KARE 11 reported.

“This is an Innocence Project case waiting to happen,” Donnelly said, according to the Star Tribune, which reported Smith claimed a passenger in his vehicle fired the fatal shot.

Boughton’s wife, Kristin Boughton, however, referred to Smith as “a complete stranger who decided to destroy our lives that night,” KARE 11 reported.

Jay Boughton, 56, was on his way home with his son after a baseball game when the shooting occurred, according to the Tribune, which reported that a video memorializing Boughton was played in the courtroom. The compilation showed Boughton singing karaoke, rollerskating, and reading a holiday card from his children, the Tribune reported.

"My children lost their innocence that day,” Kristin Boughton said, according to the Tribune. “It's not fair that they lost so much so fast. But they have so much of their dad in them."

Smith may one day be eligible for parole, but not for nearly 30 years, reports said.