By Paul Walsh
Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS — A man jailed on charges of killing four people and wounding another in Minneapolis went on a rampage trying to escape, injuring several corrections officers in the process, according to a criminal complaint.
James Duane Ortley’s violent eruption on Oct. 22 left him steps away from public elevators at the downtown facility, according to five counts of assaulting a peace officer and one each of attempted escape and property damage.
Ortley, 35, back in jail and being held in lieu of $2 million bail in connection with the mass shooting charges last spring, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon regarding the attempted escape allegations.
Ortley allegedly shot five acquaintances in the head inside a car on April 29 in the 1500 block of E. 25th Street. Killed were Evan Denny, 27, of St. Paul; Joseph Goodwin, 17, of Minneapolis; LeRas Rainey, 28, of Minneapolis; and Merelle White, 20, of Red Lake. One victim survived.
In a statement, the Sheriff’s Office recounted details of the jailbreak and included that Ortley was tased as part of the deputy’s success in returning him to his cell.
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The statement noted that “this incident underscores the dangerous job our deputies face every day, and we’re grateful for their quick action to prevent further injury.”
Sheriff’s office administration has reviewed the incident, the statement continued, “and updated procedures are now in place for handling professional visits.”
According to the attempted escape charges, Ortley and an unspecified “professional visitor” were in a third-floor meeting room. Shortly after 4:15 p.m., Ortley pushed his way past his visitor as the meeting was wrapping up and headed toward a bank of “non-secure” public elevators. Ortley grabbed a fire extinguisher off a wall and began breaking the glass of a door that leads to the elevators.
As corrections deputies converged on Ortley, he “discharged the fire extinguisher at and on them,” the charges read. “This prevented the deputies from seeing or entering the room to apprehend [Ortley].”
Once the fire extinguisher was nearly empty, Ortley went to the floor and yelled, “ ‘I’m done! I’m done!’ ”
Deputies pulled him to the secure side of the visiting area and handcuffed him. When asked what he was doing, Ortley replied, according to the charges, “ ‘Look me up,’ ” an apparent reference to the mass shooting charges.
In a jail call later, Ortley admitted to trying to “get outta here,” the complaint noted.
The deputies who responded to Ortley’s outburst all were treated for inhaling the chemical, and one of them also sustained a hand injury.
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