Third person charged in Minneapolis attempted car theft that left veteran with fatal injury

A 19-year-old woman is the third person to be charged in connection to the death of a beloved Minneapolis coffee shop employee.

Riniyah Allen is accused of driving the car that hit Amos Ferrier as he was trying to thwart an auto theft outside of Rick's Coffee Shop on May 15. 

Charging documents say Allen dropped off Janaya and Jordan Frost by the coffee shop on 43rd Avenue and 53rd Street East around 1:35 p.m. Janaya Frost entered Rick's Coffee Shop while Jordan Frost took a backpack from Ferrier's vehicle, charges say.

Ferrier saw Frost rummaging through his car and ran outside and into the middle of the street, charges say. Jordan Frost got into the passenger seat of the car Allen was driving, and Allen drove up to Ferrier, accelerated and hit him, according to the complaint.

Ferrier fell onto the hood of the car and multiple eyewitnesses reported that Allen tried to accelerate and break in an attempt to get him off. She then swerved and Ferrier fell to the ground, suffering a fatal head injury, charges say.

The complaint says that Allen stopped a few blocks away so that Jordan Frost could dump out the contents of the backpack and Janaya Frost could get into the car.

The car was registered to Allen, the charges say. None of the occupants of the car reported the incident to police.

Allen was hiding at Janaya Frost's St. Paul residence, the criminal complaint says. She was arrested with Janaya Frost on May 19.

Allen faces one count of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Janaya and Jordan Frost were charged on May 22 with one count each of aiding an offender after the fact. Janaya Frost also faces one count of aiding an offender to avoid arrest.

Ferrier served in the U.S. Army for 15 years as a medic, including tours in Afghanistan, according to Tom McKenna, who operates Rick's Coffee Shop. He said Ferrier earned a combat medic badge and was credited for saving multiple lives.