DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Minnesota

For Immediate Release

Monday, July 20, 2020
Erica H. MacDonald
, United States Attorney
Contact: Tasha Zerna

Native Mob Gang Member Charged with Illegally Possessing a Firearm

Defendant Has Also Been Charged in Hennepin County with a June 25, 2020, Shooting

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a criminal complaint charging CHARLES THOMAS ORTLEY, 30, with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. ORTLEY made his initial appearance today before Magistrate Judge Katherine M. Menendez in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

According to the allegations in the criminal complaint and law enforcement affidavit, on April 21, 2020, the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) conducted a traffic stop of a Chevrolet Suburban for speeding. ORTLEY was identified as the front seat passenger. During a search of the vehicle, officers found a bag that contained a Sig Sauer P224 .40 caliber handgun, two small notebooks, a digital scale, and three Native Mob related medallions. One of the notebooks contained online account user name and passwords in the name of “ortleycharles.” Officers also recovered from the glovebox approximately 45 separate bindles of heroin. Because ORTLEY has prior felony convictions in Hennepin County, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms at any time.

On June, 30, 2020, ORTLEY was charged by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office with one count of illegal possession of a firearm and one count of second-degree assault in connection with a shooting that occurred on June 25, 2020, in south Minneapolis.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Minnesota State Patrol, and the White Earth Police Department. This case was brought as part of the Twin Cities Violent Crime Task Force, a multi-agency effort that brings together additional federal and state resources to assist local law enforcement to investigate, arrest, and prosecute individuals responsible for gun violence in the Twin Cities. For more information about the Twin Cities Violent Crime Task Force, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/united-states-attorney-announces-new-twin-cities-violent-crime-task-force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott is prosecuting the case.

The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defendant Information:

CHARLES THOMAS ORTLEY, 30 Minneapolis, Minn.

Charges:

  • Felon in possession of a firearm, 1 count

###

Additional news available on our website.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600

St. Paul Field Division