Man accused of shooting 5 people in Minneapolis this spring now charged with trying to escape jail

A man accused of killing four people and injuring a fifth is now facing additional charges.

James Duane Ortley has been charged with one count of trying to escape from custody, four counts of fourth-degree assault on law enforcement, and one count of first-degree property damage.

New charges

Ortley is in custody at Hennepin County Jail in connection with a shooting that killed four people and injured one. According to the criminal complaint, the failed escape attempt occurred on Oct. 22.

Court documents state that Ortley was meeting with a “professional visitor.” As the visitor was leaving, Ortley pushed past them to get to the public elevator bank.

He then grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall and began breaking the glass on the door that leads to the elevators, court documents state. As deputies got to the area, Ortley sprayed the fire extinguisher at and on them, which prevented them from seeing or going into the room to detain him.

Once the fire extinguisher was empty, Ortley put it on the ground and yelled, “I’m done! I’m done!” and deputies were able to put him in handcuffs. When the deputies asked Ortley why he did that, he replied to “Look [him] up!”

Five deputies were treated for inhaling the chemical from the fire extinguisher. Some of the deputies also suffered minor injuries in the incident.

In two phone calls made from inside the jail, Ortley admitted to trying to escape and described spraying the fire extinguisher onto the deputies.

The murders

Ortley faces four counts of second-degree murder, one count of attempted second-degree murder and one count of illegal firearm possession in connection with a shooting in Minneapolis on April 30.

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Five people had been shot. Three of them were pronounced deceased at the scene: 17-year-old Joseph Goodwin, 27-year-old Evan Denny and 20-year-old Merelle White.

28-year-old Leras Rainey was pronounced deceased at the hospital. A fifth victim was brought to the hospital with serious injuries.

All five victims had been shot in the head.

The surviving victim identified the shooter by street names, including “Baby J,” “Little J” and “Little James.” Witnesses also identified the suspect as Ortley.

In a previous interview with police in 2023, Ortley said his street name was “Baby James.”

The victim added that Ortley approached the vehicle the victims were sitting in, shot everyone inside, and ran away.

Ortley and some of his family members are associated with the Native Mob.
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