Michael Oneal Fleming, 33, was arrested in Chicago, Illinois, on the evening of October 20 by the United States Marshals Service without incident, the Seattle Police Department said in an update on its official blotter.
Source: Seattle Police Department — SPD Blotter
On October 21, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said prosecutors had charged Fleming with Murder in the First Degree with a firearm enhancement, after Seattle police referred the case following an independent review. Prosecutors asked that bail be set at $5 million. The case number given by the prosecutor's office is 26-1-06305-9. Defendants are innocent until proven guilty in court.
Source: King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office
Seattle police were called to the 76 gas station at 351 Broad Street, near Belltown, at 5:52 a.m. on October 13 for a reported shooting. Officers found the 36-year-old victim behind the counter unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds, and Seattle Fire Department medics pronounced him deceased at the scene, police said. Investigators said a suspect dressed in all black entered the store, approached the counter, shot the clerk and left on foot.
According to the public charging documents quoted by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, it is alleged that Fleming shot his former co-worker multiple times at close range for no apparent reason. Prosecutors said the motive was not robbery, and that there is no evidence to date of any conflict between the defendant and the victim. These are allegations in charging documents, not findings by a court.
The charging documents also note that the defendant's brother told detectives investigating the recent murder of their mother and stepfather that the defendant had been delusional and erratic in recent communications and was in some sort of mental health crisis, the prosecutor's office said. The documents said it was believed Fleming fled to Chicago after the Seattle shooting. No charge in the mother-and-stepfather investigation was announced in the Seattle police or King County prosecutor statements reviewed for this story.
Fleming was arrested in Chicago and faces the King County first-degree murder case in Washington. Seattle police had earlier described him as armed and dangerous and asked anyone who saw him to call 911 and not approach him; that warning was issued before the October 20 arrest.
What is solid
- Fleming was arrested in Chicago on Oct. 20 by U.S. Marshals, per Seattle police.
- King County prosecutors charged first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement on Oct. 21 and requested $5 million bail.
- A 36-year-old clerk was found shot behind the counter at 351 Broad Street on Oct. 13 and was pronounced dead at the scene, per Seattle police.
What is only claimed
- Prosecutors allege the victim was Fleming's former co-worker and was shot multiple times at close range — an allegation to be tested in court.
- No motive has been established; prosecutors say it was not robbery and cite no evidence of a prior conflict.