MINNEAPOLIS — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above originally aired on Thursday, July 14.
Jurors in the Jamal Smith trial were sent home early Friday without hearing any testimony as the court dealt with "unexpected legal issues," including the judge's ruling to allow the prosecutors to play recorded jailhouse calls. Testimony is now expected to resume Monday, with the state likely to present its final witnesses.
Smith faces first- and second-degree murder charges in the death of youth baseball coach Jay Boughton July 6, 2021. Prosecutors say Smith fired a single shot following a short traffic altercation on Highway 169 in Plymouth, striking Boughton in the head and killing him instantly.
Smith's defense team made clear during opening statements Monday that they will not contest their client was indeed driving the SUV, but repeatedly told jurors that evidence in the case will not support his conviction.
THE TRIAL SO FAR
The state began presenting its case Monday, with Boughton's wife and son on the witness stand. Harrison Boughton was in the vehicle when his father was shot.
Harrison Boughton testified that he did not see the driver or occupants of the SUV but said his dad swerved, honked and flipped the driver off as the vehicle tried to move into his lane. He told the courtroom he did not hear the shot, but heard glass break and saw a circle entry on the driver's side window. At the time he did not realize it was a gunshot, but recalled hitting the ditch off 169 and then swerving into a parking lot before hitting a number of cars.
Tuesday's testimony included witnesses from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office, as well as investigators in the case. The defense team had a small victory when the judge ruled the yellow shirts worn by supporters of the Boughton family would no longer be allowed in the courtroom, as defense attorneys were concerned it could influence the jury.
On Wednesday, prosecutors were shown a Facebook video that Smith posted on his page just hours before Boughton was fatally shot. Investigators testified the video showed Smith in the same Silver Chevy Suburban identified as the shooter's vehicle, and holding a gun that police said is the murder weapon.
Rondelle Hardin, Smith's girlfriend, also testified on Wednesday. She made it clear she is a reluctant witness and is still dating Smith; Hardin admitted to the jury she talks to him every day despite a court order saying he isn't allowed.
At various times throughout her testimony, Hardin contradicted statements she gave under oath to a grand jury and admitted two friends texted her articles of the then-unsolved murder of Jay Boughton, showing the silver SUV on the highway. Hardin did admit she confronted Smith by phone last summer about the shooting and asked why his truck was on surveillance video.
Thursday in court included another procedural win for the defense team, as the judge allowed them to present a photo of one of the passengers in the SUV, taken the next day after the shooting, holding a gun similar to Smith's. Prosecutors tried to show that passenger wasn't the shooter by presenting records that he was texting at the time.
It appears neither of the passengers who were in Smith's vehicle at the time of the shooting will testify in the trial. The backseat passenger currently cannot be located.