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Seattle police recover 8 firearms while arresting deadly downtown shooting suspect

Officers say the suspect is connected to multiple robberies in and around Seattle, including one where a bank employee was shot in the SoDo neighborhood.

SEATTLE — Marcus D. Chaney, 44, was arrested Wednesday in connection to a deadly shooting on Third Avenue and Pine Street as well as a bank robbery in the SODO neighborhood last month, according to the Seattle Police Department (SPD).

Chaney also faces a previous charge of robbery in the first degree related to a pot shop robbery in Lake Forest Park in January.

During his arrest, officers recovered eight firearms and a bag of suspected fentanyl. SPD officers, members of the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service took the 44-year-old into custody and booked him into the King County Jail.

Alleged crimes:

Chaney has been implicated in a string of robberies and shootings around the Seattle area over the past several months.

Chaney is allegedly connected to an armed robbery at Mr. Greens Cannabis in Lake Forest Park in January. He was identified by a fingerprint left on a garbage bag dropped by one of the suspects while robbing the store. He was positively identified on security footage by a law enforcement officer who had previously interacted with him, according charging documents.

Chaney also allegedly robbed a KeyBank in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood on Feb. 11, shortly after 1 p.m. on the 1900 block of First Avenue South.

During the robbery, Chaney allegedly shot a 34-year-old male bank employee who was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

The Third Ave and Pine Street shooting occurred around midday on Sunday, Feb. 27. Officers found a man with gunshot wounds in the 200 block of Pine Street. The victim died at the scene.

Chaney was allegedly caught on camera arguing with the victim before the shooting occurred. CCTV footage captured a suspect, later identified as Chaney, shooting the victim a total of three times, according to court documents.

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Charges:

Chaney was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery related to the incident at Mr. Greens Cannabis on March 22.

Chaney also appeared in court on Wednesday where a judge found probable cause for one count of murder in the second degree and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree related to the fatal shooting on Third Avenue and Pine Street in February.

The SODO robbery case has not been referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office yet, according to Director of Communications Casey McNerthney.

McNerthney said cases involving shootings are put in front of a judge as quickly as possible.

"In every case that has been referred to us recently for Seattle shootings we’ve charged those cases immediately and when we have the evidence to do so we go before judges and argue that the people are a danger,” McNerthney said.

"Certainly when you have an individual with a gun that should not have one at Third and Pike or anywhere in the city that’s a concern and we’re going to go before judges and present evidence to say ‘we need accountability here,” he said.

The fatal shooting on Pine Street near Third Avenue was one of at least two unrelated deadly shootings in the area, with the other happening less than a week later, leaving a 15-year-old dead.

The shootings and other criminal activity led to the SPD increasing its presence and establishing a mobile precinct near Third Avenue and Pine Street, a strategy the department said worked successfully in curbing criminal activity at another trouble spot in the Little Saigon area.

However, a number of businesses closed in the area due to the increase in shootings and other criminal behavior.

On Tuesday, Interim SPD Chief Adrian Diaz presented the department’s strategy in the coming months to restore its ranks and evolve to deal with the rising violent crime throughout the city over the last two years.

Along with increasing the number of uniformed officers, Diaz hopes the department can rebuild relationships with the community as well.

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