PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The man accused of killing one man and wounding 2 other people late Friday night near the Moda Center was previously accused of shooting another man after a dice game in 2014.
Robert J. James Jr. was arrested Friday after a Portland police officer heard and saw the shooting near N. Multnomah and Wheeler. Markell Devon Jones was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Jones was a 44-year-old father of 3 children. His friend was also wounded and a woman, who is not thought to be an intended target, was also seriously injured.
James, 35, pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance on Monday.
The Associated Press reports prosecutors allege James fired into an SUV at a northeast Portland intersection Friday, killing 44-year-old Markell Jones and wounding the driver. A woman waiting nearby for public transportation was also wounded by the gunfire.
According to court documents, Jones died the next morning at the hospital. Police did not identify the surviving man and woman.
Police apprehended James about a block away from the shooting scene. James is due back in court next week.
Previous shooting arrest
The Portland Tribune reports James was accused of shooting Isaac Rowden with an “Uzi” style gun afer the two began to gamble and play dice in a garage off 82nd Avenue in 2014, according to a police affidavit.
Rowden told Detective Todd Prosser he won more than $5,000 from James on May 2, but that James became “upset” and shot him in the left torso, inflicting extensive internal injuries.
“He described begging ‘Robert’ not to kill him and telling him that he had children,” the affidavit reports.
The case apparently fell apart after a mutual friend who had introduced the alleged shooter and his victim refused to cooperate. All charges, which included robbery and attempted murder, were dropped. A charge of attempted murder lodged against James was also dismissed in 2005.
Charges against James of being a felon in possession of a gun, fourth-degree assault, strangulation and menacing were dismissed in 2009, according to court records. Charges of possession and delivery of cocaine were dismissed in 2006.
James was convicted of attempting to elude police in 2006 and fourth-degree assault in 2009.
The Portland Tribune is a media partner with KOIN 6 News.