Man arrested for illegal gun possession after being found not guilty in 2020 Seattle gang shooting

One of the men involved in a fatal gang shootout in downtown Seattle during rush hour in 2020 was arrested on Thursday after reporting to his probation appointment for alleged illegal possession of a firearm, according to the Department of Justice.

According to the criminal complaint, Marquise Tolbert is alleged to have possessed firearms on May 28, 2023, and on June 1, 2023, and is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a September 2022 conviction in King County Superior Court for illegally possessing a firearm.



Parchey Kelly, 29, of Issaquah WA, and Kisean Coleman, 22, of Renton WA, were also arrested.

Tolbert is prohibited from owning firearms after a conviction for the 2020 gang shootout that killed a 50-year-old woman and injured seven, including a 9-year-old boy. Kelly is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a 2019 domestic violence conviction and Coleman is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to 2019 theft and robbery convictions in King County Superior Court.

Investigators with the FBI Safe Streets task force, the DEA, and the Seattle Police Gun Violence Reduction Unit were investigating a drug trafficking organization when Tolbert and the other defendants were heard on the wiretap discussing a gang-related shoot-out in Federal Way, according to a detailed criminal complaint.

During the conversations, Tolbert, Coleman, and Kelly discussed their efforts to obtain, buy or sell firearms and even texted images of the firearms they wanted to buy or sell.

According to the DOJ, on May 30, law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized four firearms from Kelly’s car and residence in Issaquah "...in an effort to interdict the gun sales." 

A wiretap from June 1 revealed that Tolbert was in the process of buying a Ruger handgun from Coleman. Law enforcement obtained a warrant and searched the 27-year-old’s residence, seizing the Ruger firearm. Coleman was arrested Thursday and additional firearms were seized from his residence.

Tolbert was arrested on the federal charges Thursday when he reported to his state probation officer and Kelly was also arrested Thursday without incident.

Illegal firearms possession is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Seattle Police Department, and the DEA, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs.

In September 2022, Tolbert was found not guilty on all counts in connection to the 2020 shooting, but pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm.

His co-defendant in the shooting, William Tolliver, was sentenced to only four years in prison last week after pleading guilty to amended charges of second-degree manslaughter, third-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Tolliver was originally charged with first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection to the shootout.