SEATTLE — A 33-year-old Seattle woman is facing murder and assault charges after police say she shot and killed another woman in Belltown over the weekend.
Rickesha Denise Overton was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and second-degree assault. Her bail was set at $5 million.
On Sunday, Seattle police officers responded to a report of a shooting inside a building in the 2500 block of Western Avenue at 1:10 a.m.
Arriving officers found the victim, a 20-year-old woman, with a gunshot wound in an alley behind The Crocodile music venue, between Wall and Vine Street. Officers attempted life-saving efforts, but she died at the scene, police said.
According to court documents, police learned there was an argument between the suspect and victim inside an apartment complex.
Investigators reportedly obtained video and audio that showed Overton following the victim with a handgun down a flight of stairs inside the apartment building, all while an argument took place. The documents said Overton led the victim through an external door to the alley and went back inside, making it halfway up the stairs before turning around again. Overton allegedly opened the external door where the victim was still on the ground and shot her three times.
Overton was found by police running near Western Avenue and Vine Street holding a black handgun. Overton reportedly told officers, "She came into my apartment, it was self-defense, I had to shoot her," the documents said.
Overton's arraignment is scheduled for March 20.
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