SEATTLE — Murder and assault charges filed Wednesday against two suspects accused of instigating a gunfight in downtown Seattle last month indicate a chance encounter with a rival gang member led Marquise Tolbert and William Toliver to unleash a barrage of bullets on innocent bystanders after their intended target already had rounded the corner and fled the scene.
King County prosecutors charged Tolbert and Toliver, both 24, each with one count of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Tanya Jackson, 50, and six counts of first-degree assault in the Jan. 22 mass shooting at the corner of Third Avenue and Pine Street. They were arrested Saturday leaving a Las Vegas hotel by U.S. Marshals and members of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and appeared in court there Tuesday, where both waived extradition to Washington.
It is unclear when exactly they will be transported back to King County, but both are scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 19, according to prosecutors.
Tolbert, Toliver and the man they targeted, 21-year-old Jamel Jackson, are all felons who are not legally allowed to possess firearms. Although Jackson is accused of returning fire with a 9 mm handgun, the charges say he did not hit any of the victims injured in the shootout. Tolbert and Jackson are each charged with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm while Toliver is charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.