Riniyah Brinique Allen has been charged with second-degree murder while committing a felony in connection to the death of Army veteran Amos Ferrier in south Minneapolis last month as he tried to thwart a theft from his vehicle.
Allen, 19, of Minneapolis has also been charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide involving driving in a grossly negligent manner and leaving the scene after causing a crash.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, May 15, outside Rick’s Coffee Bar on the 5400 block of 43rd Avenue South, where Ferrier worked.
Charges describe that Allen and accomplices arrived in a vehicle to the area of the coffee shop. Accomplice Janaya Samiah Frost, 18, exited the vehicle and entered the coffee shop.
The suspect vehicle, driven by Allen, stopped near Ferrier’s vehicle, and accomplice Jordan Frost, 20, exited the passenger side of Allen’s vehicle, approached Ferrier’s vehicle, and made access after manipulating the door handles. Officers later learned that Ferrier and another person witnessed Jordan Frost rifling through the vehicle and ran outside.
The witness told police that Allen yelled to Jordan Frost to return to the vehicle, which he did, and was carrying a backpack he had removed from Ferrier’s vehicle.
Witnesses told police that Ferrier ran into the middle of the road, where Allen, with passenger Jordan Frost, drove toward him. Allen’s vehicle stopped about 10 feet from Ferrier before again driving toward Ferrier and nearly touching his legs. According to a witness, Allen then accelerated and struck Ferrier, causing him to fall onto the hood of Allen’s vehicle.
Multiple witnesses told police that Allen made numerous rapid accelerations and sharp braking maneuvers, in an apparent attempt to throw Ferrier from the hood. With Ferrier still on the hood, Allen began driving at a high rate of speed, aggressively swerving from side to side in the roadway, leaving tire marks in the pavement. Allen’s conduct caused Ferrier to be thrown from the vehicle, where he fell to the ground and sustained a head injury. Ferrier passed away in the hospital two days later as a result of his injuries.
Allen’s vehicle drove several blocks before stopping, and witnesses observed Jordan Frost dump the contents of the stolen backpack onto the roadway. At that point, Janaya Frost ran toward Allen’s vehicle, and the occupants were yelling at her to “hurry up” and “get into the car,” witnesses said.
Officers were able to identify the vehicle from license plate information and determined that it was registered to Allen, who was a known associate of Janaya Frost, based on prior police contacts. Jordan Frost was also captured on surveillance images and was identified from prior police contacts.
Police received information that Allen was concealing herself at Janaya Frost’s residence in St. Paul, where a brief standoff ensued on May 19 with Allen and Janaya Frost inside the residence. A family member eventually assisted police in getting the pair out of the residence, and they were arrested.
Janaya Frost was charged following arrest with two felony counts of aiding an offender. Jordan Frost was charged by warrant with one felony count of aiding an offender after the fact and was arrested last week.
Allen was initially released from custody without being charged, but was rearrested on the murder warrant last Friday.
Allen remains in custody on $2 million bail; her next court appearance is on June 18. Jordan Frost also remains in custody on $1 million bail. Janaya Frost has since posted $5,000 bail and is out of custody.
Ferrier was an internship director at Every Third Saturday (ETS), a nonprofit that runs Rick’s Coffee Bar and donates all profits to support veterans. A statement released previously by ETS and Rick’s said that Ferrier was a decorated Army medic who served in Afghanistan and had been credited with saving multiple lives during his service.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
