12 years in prison for man who crashed SUV in St. Paul while fleeing police, injuring 3 people

A man received a prison sentence of up to 12 years for crashing an SUV into a car in St. Paul while fleeing police, seriously injuring three people in a pedestrian’s car.

Amabile, 34, of St. Paul, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and illegal drugs in connection with the Nov. 25, 2022, incident that began in Woodbury and culminated. In the collision in St. Paul.

He also previously pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court to criminal vehicle operation resulting from the collision. The federal ruling provides what is known as a “global solution” to the case.

Since 2010, Amabili has accumulated convictions for more than a dozen felonies along with numerous other crimes in Minnesota. They include: three for fleeing law enforcement, six for driving without a license, two for driving under the influence, three for credit card fraud, five for theft and three for various types of assault.

At the time of the accident, Amabile did not have a valid Minnesota driver’s license, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Amabile had been released from prison a month and a half before the crash after serving nearly two and a half years for a series of crimes in September 2019 that began with his escape from Albert Lea police, who suspected he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and had also participated in an attempted carjacking. . Just across the border in Iowa.

“The seriousness of his latest crime…provides a horrific reminder of the harm that can easily be caused by gun possession by felons who previously had multiple opportunities for rehabilitation; . They failed to take advantage of those opportunities, and instead fell into a pattern of obtaining more weapons or drugs or committing additional crimes.

Amabili’s defense lawyer asked for a nine-year prison sentence, noting that his client had been neglected by his parents and subjected to abusive behavior.

“Mr. Amabile’s entire life has been characterized by instability and lack of support,” attorney F. Clayton Tyler wrote. “His mental health needs appear to have been greatly under-appreciated and unaddressed.”

According to charges filed in Ramsey County:

Police in Woodbury spotted an SUV that had evaded the State Patrol the night before. The SUV headed west on Interstate 94 at speeds between 90 and 105 mph, while police pursued it with lights and sirens. The SUV exited White Bear Avenue in St. Paul and briefly traveled the wrong lane, prompting Woodbury police to abandon the pursuit.

Amabile soon crashed the SUV into a car at White Bear and Minnehaha streets. One of the young teens who was driving to play soccer suffered multiple serious injuries. Federal prosecutors say the teen had to give up playing football. The other young teenager in the car suffered a broken leg and a fractured face.

Amabili ran from the SUV carrying a gun. Officers used non-lethal ammunition to knock the gun out of his hand, and he was quickly arrested.

A police search of the SUV turned up a handgun magazine containing 10 rounds of ammunition, a bag of psilocybin mushrooms and nearly three-quarters of a pound of methamphetamine.