Charges dropped against man accused of fleeing police in fatal Mpls. chase

Prosecutors dropped charges Friday against a man accused of being the driver in a police pursuit that resulted in a crash, killing an innocent bystander and resulting in a conviction for the Minneapolis police officer involved.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office dismissed counts of fleeing police and auto theft against James Jeremiah Jones-Drain, 20, citing an "inability to prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt at this time," according to a brief court filing. Jones-Drain was set to stand trial Monday, a month after Brian Cummings was sentenced to serve less than a year in the county workhouse after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide.

Cummings pursued the vehicle in north Minneapolis, reaching speeds up to 100 mph throughout residential streets before his squad car ran a red light and struck a Jeep driven by Leneal Frazier on July 6, 2021. According to the charges, Cummings was traveling nearly 80 mph when he hit Frazier at 41st and Lyndale avenues N.

Jones-Drain was arrested 18 months later. He pled not guilty to two counts of theft and causing death by fleeing police.

Frazier, a 40-year-old father of six, was the uncle of Darnella Frazier, the teen who recorded ex-MPD officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes until he died in 2020.

Attorney Jeff Storms, representing the Frazier family in a potential lawsuit against the city, said the family is "deeply disappointed" by the dismissal.

"Officer Cummings serving a few months in local confinement as the sole criminal accountability for Leneal's death is not justice for Leneal and his family," said Storms in a statement.

Jones-Drain had 10 pending cases in Hennepin County alleging a string of robberies before the crash, according to charges, and remains jailed on an unrelated case of illegal gun possession.

Cummings' defense attorney Thomas Plunkett also expressed his disappointment over the dismissal in a statement Friday.

"Mr. Cummings risked his life many times to protect people. He sits in jail," Plunkett said. "Mr. Jones-Drain, a gun toting thief, who bears responsibility for the death of Leneal Frazier, and stole from the innocent gets a break? Minneapolis is a better place to be a criminal than a law enforcement officer."

At Cummings' sentencing, Plunkett said the pursuit "arose out of legitimate, law enforcement action initiated by a solid, well-respected officer with an impeccable record."

Surveillance video from the Target on E. Lake Street allegedly showed Jones-Drain and another man approach a woman in the parking lot three days before the crash. One of the men grabbed her keys, and they drove off with her SUV.

In the next 1½ hours, Jones-Drain robbed four retail businesses in Minneapolis and one in Robbinsdale. Plunkett referenced those cases in his failed effort to have the charges against Cummings dismissed.

Minneapolis police arrested Jones-Drain during a January traffic stop because of 12 active warrants. Officers found a black semi-automatic handgun in his jacket and he was charged with illegally possessing a firearm due to previous charges of aggravated robbery.

Jones-Drain has remained in custody since. Calls left with his public defender Friday were not returned.