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Bail is set at $2M for a man charged with killing four in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS — 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.

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