Victor Marshall: Active-duty Navy sailor, 23, faces murder charges after shooting three strangers
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
BREMERTON, WASHINGTON: Prosecutors in King County claimed that an active-duty Navy member shot three strangers last month following a night out in Pioneer Square, killing one man and wounding two others.
Victor Marshall, 23, was taken into custody by Seattle police on Monday, March 11, at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton. On Thursday, March 14, he was charged with two counts of first-degree assault and second-degree murder.
Victor Marshall detained in lieu of $4 million bail
In addition, each charge carries a firearm enhancement, meaning Marshall could receive a standard sentence ranging from 41 to 53 years in prison if found guilty.
In lieu of a $4 million bail, he is still detained. According to reports, Stuart Roberts II, 25, was shot four times by Marshall in the early hours of February 25 and died as a result.
Marshall is also accused of shooting a 25-year-old woman and another man who both survived.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Raymond Lee stated in the charging papers that "the two surviving victims were engaged in an argument among themselves when they were shot by the defendant," The Chronicle reported.
According to interviews with witnesses, "there does not appear to be a clear explanation why the defendant felt the need to shoot three separate strangers in a public place."
Per Lee's charges against Marshall, the active-duty military member likely had access to more firearms and weapons training, even though the police haven't found the gun used in the shooting.
A spokesman for Naval Base Kitsap confirmed in an email on Friday that Marshall is a sailor who arrived at the Bremerton naval base in late 2022. He was assigned to the base's traffic and parking office, where he performed administrative tasks related to on-base parking procedures.
Just before two in the morning on February 25, police were called to the OHM nightclub's parking lot, where they found the female victim, according to the charges. On the sidewalk outside the club, officers discovered her boyfriend, who was hurt.
As per the charges, dispatchers informed the on-scene police that Roberts had arrived at Virginia Mason Medical Center suffering from gunshot wounds.
Charges against Victor Marshall were based on surveillance footage
According to the charges, when police arrived at the hospital, they discovered a handgun and blood on the floor of the vehicle that had driven him there. After being taken to Harborview Medical Center, Roberts passed away there.
Marshall and some friends arrived in three different cars that were all parked in the lot a little after 10 p.m. the night before they went inside OHM together, according to the charges, which were based on surveillance footage from the club.
As per the charges, Marshall took out a gun he had left in his friend's car after leaving the club and sat on the trunk. According to the charging papers, Marshall started shooting after the man and woman started fighting about their relationship.
Roberts and a female friend were attempting to diffuse the situation at the time.
According to the charges, after Marshall was taken into custody, investigators took pictures of his hands and neck, which show certain tattoos that seem to correspond with the gunmen in the video. His arraignment is set for this coming Wednesday, March 20.
