A Burnsville man who abducted his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint outside her Minnetonka workplace has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

Jahon K. Douglas, 37, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery in Hennepin County District Court and was sentenced Monday to 5â…” years in prison for the late-afternoon abduction of 37-year-old Nicole Smith outside her workplace on Bren Road. Douglas let her go two days later unharmed physically.

With time in jail since his arrest in early January, Douglas will serve roughly the first 3½ years in prison and the balance on supervised release. Charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping were dropped.

Douglas and Smith had a history of domestic turmoil, police said. Smith told police that Douglas planned to kill her and then himself, the charges read.

Smith and a co-worker had gotten into a car outside Minneapolis Mart, a showroom for wholesale home decor on Bren Road, when Douglas climbed in the back seat and pointed a gun at the co-worker's head. Smith got out of the car, and Douglas followed and forced her into his car, the complaint said.

Douglas' long criminal history in Minnesota includes three convictions for assault, four for drug crimes, two for drunken driving, one each for violating a court order for protection, property damage and disorderly conduct, and more than 20 for driving after having his license revoked.

Paul Walsh