Suspect in deadly 2020 downtown Seattle shooting could be released from jail while awaiting trial

The last suspect in the deadly 2020 shooting in downtown Seattle could walk out of the King County Jail on Monday.

William Tolliver still faces trial for murder and assault in the shooting that sparked fear across the city.

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But he won’t be waiting in jail.

He has been there for more than three years.  And his lawyers told a Superior Court judge that is long enough, that he should be allowed to leave the King County Jail.

But Tolliver fled after the deadly shooting, and the King County Prosecutor says jail is where he should stay.

“I mean, if you have somebody who has failed to follow court orders and illegally possess guns previously, why would you think they would change now?” asked Casey McNerthney, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor.

That was the crux of the prosecutor’s argument for why Tolliver should remain behind bars while awaiting trial. He is a suspect in a deadly 2020 mass shooting in the heart of downtown Seattle at the height of rush hour.

In the chaos, one person was shot dead, and seven others were wounded, including a nine-year-old boy.  In the mayhem, Tolliver, now 27, and another suspect, Marquise Tolbert, escaped to Las Vegas, more than 1,100 miles away.

“And that’s something that the prosecutor who’s handling the case, brought before the judge to say, ‘Hey, this is somebody who’s already fled after the shooting and who has a history of not following court orders,’” said McNerthney.

The shooting incited fear across the city, especially for those who witnessed it.

“Then I heard a pop, pop, pop, about a dozen shots,” said Douglas Converse, back in January 2020.  “And I just saw people jumping behind cars and anywhere they could hide.”

Nevertheless, only Tolliver remains in custody. And his lawyers want him out, too, on an unsecured bond or bail on home detention at his grandmother’s house.

A judge has agreed. McNerthney says they respectfully disagree.

“When people wonder why the prosecutor’s office is arguing against release, they should look at that video,” said McNerthney, “the surveillance video of the shooting and see the trauma that was caused and why we believe that that this person should be held reasonably in custody.”

As for Tolliver’s alleged accomplices, both men were released from jail.

Tolbert was reportedly acquitted of murder. Then, later, he and Jamel Jackson pleaded guilty to a firearms charge.

Tolliver could get out, too, as soon as Monday.

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