Accused IGH Cop Shooter Pleads Not Guilty

A West St. Paul man accused of attempted murder of an Inver Grove Heights police officer pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

Justin Thadeus Amick, 39, appeared in a Dakota County courtroom Tuesday to answer charges of firing two shots at police officers in Inver Grove Heights on March 18. 

Amick is charged with four felonies: attempted first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, which has a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine, and second-degree assault, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $14,000 fine.

Since his arrest, Amick has been held in the Dakota County Jail on a $1 million bond. During his 20 minutes in the courtroom Tuesday, two sheriff’s deputies stood close by, monitoring Amick and a row full of spectators who were there for Amick’s hearing.

Amick, wearing orange jail coveralls and with his hands shackled to a belt at his waist, entered the courtroom just after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and was led to a chair at the side. He raised his head and searched the room.

When he spotted a solemn-faced little boy of about 4 years old sitting on a woman’s lap in the spectators’ section, his eyes lit up, and he raised his hands as high as he could to wave. The little boy returned his smile.

Amick’s appearance followed a lengthy consultation among attorneys and Judge Kathryn Messerich. Amick’s attorney, Christopher Zipko, asked Messerich to schedule a contested omnibus hearing because he plans to question the admissibility of evidence on constitutional grounds; the judge scheduled that hearing for July 20, with a trial date set for Oct. 1.

Messerich entered a not guilty plea on Amick’s behalf to all four felony charges.

According to the criminal complaint, Inver Grove Heights police were called to the 7500 block of River Road just after 4:30 a.m. March 18 after someone reported hearing gunshots.

Police found a car parked in the area with Amick and a woman sitting inside. As officers approached the car, Amick pointed a handgun out the driver’s side window at the officer and fired; as police sought cover, Amick fired the gun again, according to the complaint.

Police shouted at Amick repeatedly to throw the gun out the window, to which he responded with an expletive, the complaint says. Amick finally yelled, “Fine!” and tossed the gun toward one of the squad cars, put the car in reverse and fled north on River Road, according to the charges.

Police recovered the gun and went to Amick’s home in West St. Paul, where they found the car that Amick had been driving. Amick was arrested in the woods behind the home.

Amick’s extensive criminal history, dating back to 1990, includes convictions for receiving stolen property, fleeing a police officer, violating protection orders and harassment.

As Amick was ushered out of the courtroom Tuesday to be taken back to jail, the woman with the little boy on her lap whispered, “Blow him a kiss.” The child did.