New Year’s shooter James Turner now faces Federal charge

James William Turner, Jr. was charged in state court with the non-fatal shooting of a then 11-year-old girl in the first few minutes of New Years Day.

Turner was allegedly in the street in a north Minneapolis neighborhood, firing his rifle to “celebrate” the new year, and hit the girl who was inside her own home.

A Star Tribune account of the case includes details about the victim, now age 12.

As I pointed out the other day, strictly speaking, as a four-time felon Turner shouldn’t have had a rifle. Strictly speaking, he should have also still been in state prison, serving time for his 2023 felony conviction. In the latest case, Turner faces at least two felony charges.

KARE-11 noticed that the Feds have charged Turner in Federal court with an illegal possession of ammunition count.

As a four-time felon, Turner should have had neither rifle nor ammunition in his possession. This morning, the Feds picked up Turner from the county jail so he could make his first appearance in Federal court. The Feds are holding onto him, pending a hearing scheduled in Federal court in Minneapolis on Friday morning.

[Update 1: at the Jan. 12 hearing, it appears that the Feds decided to keep him in Federal custody.]

[Update 2: Turner was formally indicted in Federal court on Jan. 30. The Feds updated their rap sheet to reflect all four past felonies committed by Turner in Minnesota.]

For the moment, Turner is out-of-reach of Hennepin County’s soft-on-crime lead prosecutor, Mary Moriarty. On the most recent state charges, Turner could be freed by posting a $100,000 bond. He still faces a parole violation on the 2023 state case.

Although this shooting was nonfatal, Minneapolis has already recorded two murders this new year, double last year’s total for the first eight days of just one murder.

Buckle up!