Out-of-state bounty hunters charged after armed clash downtown

Two Oklahoma bounty hunters have been charged in Hennepin County after they allegedly pointed what appeared to be handguns and a pepper ball rifle at civilians during and after a warrant arrest in Minneapolis, including outside the downtown jail. Prosecutors say that on March 3, Garrett Christopher Willis, 28, twice pointed a Glock‑style weapon from the driver’s seat of a van at chanting bystanders near the jail while James Reginal Willis, 54, stood in front of the van with a pepper ball rifle, then appeared to fire pepper rounds at people’s feet before the pair drove off and nearly hit someone. Earlier that day at 28th Street and Oakland Avenue, the men allegedly pointed their weapons at a driver who was trying to leave the scene while recording their arrest of a third party. James Willis later told investigators that his team carries only less‑lethal pepper ball guns modeled on a Glock 17 and claimed civilians had threatened to kill or scalp them, but charging documents say no such threats are audible on video and no weapons are visible in civilians’ hands. Both men face one count of threats of violence with reckless disregard and one count of threats of violence with a replica gun, with first court appearances set for April 21, putting the growing use of armed private fugitive teams on Minneapolis streets squarely in front of a local judge and jury.