A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to four years in prison for shooting a gun at other motorists in two separate road rage incidents in St. Paul, including one that involved another vehicle with children inside.

James Allen Ameer Smith (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

James Allen Ameer Smith, 24, received his sentence Friday in Ramsey County District Court in connection with the 2024 incidents.

Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of drive-by shooting, and the prosecution agreed to seek no more than 50 months in prison as part of a plea agreement. Four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon were dismissed at sentencing. Smith also received credit for 407 days he served in custody.

Smith has an open case in Dakota County that alleges he waved a gun at an Eagan motorist the day before he was arrested in the St. Paul shootings.

According to the criminal complaints:

A man reported that Oct. 12, 2024, while in his Jeep with two children, his vehicle was struck by a bullet on Summit Avenue near Lexington Parkway.

He said the driver of a black sedan was tailgating his Jeep and that when he tapped his brakes, the sedan accelerated and passed him, driving in the oncoming traffic lane. Then the sedan’s driver suddenly came to a near stop near the Governor’s Residence on Summit. The Jeep driver passed the sedan, but then that driver again went into the oncoming traffic lane to pass the Jeep.

As they neared Dale Street, the sedan braked hard and came to a stop. Again, the Jeep passed the sedan. As it did, the car’s driver fired a gun and a bullet struck the Jeep. The Jeep driver sped away.

No one was injured by his two children — ages 6 and 9 — were in the vehicle when it was hit.

Investigators found a bullet hole in the front passenger door of the Jeep and saw where the bullet had grazed and made contact with the center console. Surveillance video near the Governor’s Residence captured part of the incident.

Just over a month later, on Nov. 14, another driver, a 33-year-old man, reported a road rage incident to St. Paul police, saying he had been shot at by another driver and that his car had been hit by a bullet.

The man said he was driving south on Snelling Avenue near Selby Avenue when a man driving a black Nissan began tailgating him. The driver “brake checked the Nissan to get the other car to back off,” according to the complaint.

When the driver turned east onto Selby, the Nissan driver pulled up beside him, rolled down his window, fired a gun and then sped away. The driver followed the Nissan while calling 911 and reporting the Nissan’s license plate number.

Officers saw a bullet hole in the front driver’s side fender.

Related Articles

Keith Ellison, mayors Kaohly Her, Jacob Frey file legal action against ICE

U.S. Bank Center mortgage acquired by St. Paul Downtown Development Corporation

Burnsville man, 23, charged with attacking 74-year-old woman on park trail

Mahtomedi man gets probation for sexually assaulting teen, who was promised drugs

MN Supreme Court reopens Keith Ellison’s wage theft case against Madison Equities

Smith was arrested two weeks later in St. Louis Park. At the time of his arrest, he was wearing an empty gun holster.

While serving a search warrant, officers found a spent bullet casing on the driver’s side floor, three live rounds of ammunition in the center console, a live round of ammunition on the floor behind the driver’s seat and a loaded Glock handgun beneath the front passenger’s seat.

Smith told authorities he didn’t recall a road rage incident with a Jeep but, “If they are saying it’s my car then I guess it happened.”

He further said,  “I hate driving — all it has caused me is problems — tickets at least for speeding.”

When Smith was told the driver of the Jeep was shot at, he asked, “Is he OK?” When told that there were children in the Jeep, Smith also asked if they were OK.