MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 41-year-old West St. Paul man has been sentenced for shooting at two police officers after a fight at his home with his brother, according to the Dakota County Attorney’s Office.
On Thursday, Justin Thadeus Amick was sentenced to 206 months — over 17 years — in prison by Judge Michael Mayer in connection to the March 18, 2012 shooting. He convicted of one count each of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and ineligible person in possession of a firearm.
According to a complaint, Inver Grove Heights Police were called to the 7500 block of River Road at about 4:43 a.m. Sunday after a resident reported hearing about five gun shots south of his residence. When authorities arrived, they located a vehicle parked on the street with a man and a woman, both in their 30s.
The man, later identified as Amick, had previous run-ins with police. An officer approached the vehicle and told Amick to show his hands. He refused to comply. The reporting citizen then started to walk up to Amick’s vehicle. Amick then put his left hand outside the driver’s side window and pointed a hand gun at the officer, according to the complaint.
The officer took cover and heard gun shots. Police did not return fire in fear of hurting the female passenger in the car. Commands were repeatedly given to Amick to drop his weapon. He finally did, then fled the scene. Authorities recovered a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol that was not loaded. Neither officer was hit our hurt in the shooting, the complaint states.
Officers then responded to Amick’s residence, where Justin Amick was arrested after going into the woods behind the residence. The woman in the car with Amick during the shooting was at the residence. She told police he got in an altercation with his brother at the residence earlier in the day and bit his brother.
Amick told police he did not remember biting his brother. When police told him he fired a gun at officers, he didn’t deny shooting the gun but said he didn’t remember, according to the complaint.
He also said “I’m sorry for what I did” and asked an officer to kill him. Amick has two previous convictions for harassment, one in 2009 and the other in 2000.
Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom released a statement after the sentencing.
“I am pleased that this lengthy prison term was handed down against this person who attempted to harm law enforcement officers in our community,” Backstrom said.
