Minneapolis — A 34-year-old alleged gang member has been charged with multiple counts of murder in connection with a mass shooting in Minneapolis overnight on Tuesday.
Court documents filed in Hennepin County detail the allegations against James Duane Ortley, who is charged with the deaths of three people and will face additional charges following the death of a fourth victim Thursday. According to the criminal complaint, multiple witnesses on the scene identified Ortley as the lone shooter, including the only shooting victim who survived.
The person, identified in the complaint as “Victim 5,” was shot in the face but was able to communicate with responding Minneapolis police officers. Victim 5 told police that Ortley was in the back seat of a car with five people inside, and that he shot everyone before exiting and fleeing.
On Friday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the three people who were shot inside the vehicle and pronounced dead on scene.
- Evan Ramon Denny – age 27
- Joseph Douglas Goodwin – age 17
- Merelle Joan White – age 20
The victim who died at the hospital on Thursday was identified by his family as Leras Rainey.
Investigators spoke with several witnesses on the scene, who identified the shooter as Baby J/Little J/Little James, Ortley’s street names, which law enforcement associates with the Native Mob gang. According to the complaint, officers interviewed Ortley on Oct. 28, 2023, during a separate homicide investigation, and he admitted that his street name was Baby James.
On the morning of the shooting, MPD homicide investigators interviewed Victim 5 at Hennepin Healthcare and learned that there was a single shooter, “Little James.” The shooting victim saw Ortley’s mug shot and positively identified him as the shooter.
Detectives also gathered surveillance video of the incident, which they say shows a single gunman who matches Ortley’s description exiting the vehicle and leaving the scene.
Ortley’s whereabouts were unknown at the time, so the charges were filed with an arrest warrant. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed Thursday evening that Ortley was apprehended around 3:30 p.m. that day when the US Marshals North Star Fugitive Task Force executed an arrest warrant on the 1600 block of South 4th Street.
He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the murder charges on Monday in Hennepin County District Court.