Bail is set at $2 million for a man charged with killing four people in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The father of one of four people killed in a mass shooting that shook the Native American community in Minneapolis said Monday that it will take a long time to heal.
Les Robinson said his 28-year-old son, LeRas Francis Rainey, seemed happy when he and some friends went to see James Duane Ortley last Tuesday. But prosecutors allege that Ortley, 34, shot Rainey and four other people in a car, killing all but one of them, in what investigators believe was a gang-related attack that later led to a retaliatory killing.
The charges against Ortley, of Minneapolis, were updated Monday to four counts of second-degree murder, one count of second-degree attempted murder, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Ortley, who was wearing a green suicide-prevention suit, said little during a hearing in which his bail was set at $2 million. The judge scheduled his next hearing for June 25. His lawyer didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
Prosecutors allege that Ortley was in the vehicle with the five victims late Tuesday when he shot each in the head. Investigators believe someone else killed a fifth person about 13 hours later and a few blocks away.
According to the criminal complaint, Ortley and members of his family are associated with the Native Mob gang, which operates in Minneapolis and other parts of Minnesota.
Authorities identified the three who died at the scene of the first shooting as Evan Ramon Denny, 27, of St. Paul; Joseph Douglas Goodwin, 17, of Minneapolis; and Merelle Joan White, 20, of Red Lake. Rainey died at a hospital Thursday.
A 20-year-old woman who was shot in the face survived and helped police identify Ortley as a suspect.
Authorities have given no details of a possible motive. But they allege in the complaint that Ortley was a friend or associate of at least one or more of the victims, who were at a family friend’s Minneapolis home on the night of the shootings before they left with plans to pick up Ortley.
Robinson, of Minneapolis, told reporters he was there when his son and the others went out that night. He said his son “left the house real happy. Like he’s going to go visit his friends, and told us he’ll be home in a couple hours. Never came back.”
Robinson said he had heard nothing more solid than rumors about what led to the shootings.
Officials say all of the victims were Native American.
Robinson, a member of the Red Lake Nation, said there’s “a lot of sorrow” now in the local Native community.
“It’s a lot of frustration and all that,” he said. “It’s just (going to) take a long time to heal this situation.”
Asked what justice would look like for Ortley, Robinson replied: “What he’s going through now, I know he’s never going to get out of there.”
After law enforcement arrested Ortley at a Minneapolis apartment Thursday, a search turned up a .380-caliber firearm that was concealed under a sweatshirt and hidden under a coffee table, the updated complaint said. The gun matched multiple bullets and shell casings found at the scene, it said.
The medical examiner identified the victim of the second shooting as Tiago Antonio Gilbert, 34, of Minneapolis. Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Thursday it was “entirely probable” that Wednesday’s shooting was revenge for the first. But investigators were still working Monday to determine a link.