William Tolliver, the man convicted in a 2020 mass shooting that killed a woman and wounded seven other people in downtown Seattle, has been released from custody after serving his sentence, according to Washington's inmate tracking system. The release comes more than six years after the rush-hour gunfight erupted along Third Avenue and Pine Street, a stretch of downtown that has never fully shaken the incident's aftershocks.
Washington VINE, the state's victim notification system, reported that Tolliver had been released from custody with his sentence listed as served, as reported by KOMO News. As a condition of his release, Tolliver is barred from possessing any guns and prohibited from contacting witnesses or co-defendants tied to the case. King County Superior Court sentenced him on June 16, 2023, to 48 months for second-degree manslaughter, a term that ran concurrently with 16-month sentences for third-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to KING 5. The sentence also included 18 months of community custody and firearm offender registration, with restitution to be determined later.
A Six-Second Gunfight Downtown
Police say the January 22, 2020, shooting stemmed from a gang feud that started over an insulting Facebook post targeting a mutual associate. Around 5 p.m. that day, three gunmen discharged at least 24 rounds within roughly six seconds at Third Avenue and Pine Street, a stretch of sidewalk lined with retail storefronts and transit stops, per the same King 5 account. Tolliver opened fire in the crowded area to target a rival gang member, KOMO reports.
The gunfire killed Tanya Jackson, a 50-year-old woman who had lived in Anchorage, Alaska, before moving to Seattle's Plymouth Housing, a nonprofit providing permanent supportive housing to formerly homeless residents, according to TIME. A 55-year-old woman living at the same housing community was also wounded, per the same report. Seven people were injured in total, including a 9-year-old boy who was walking with his family after visiting the Pacific Science Center, KOMO reports.
A Getaway, an Arrest, and a Trial That Didn't Go as Planned
Tolliver was originally charged with first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to KOMO. After the shooting, he and co-defendant Marquise Tolbert fled to Nevada, remaining on the run for 10 days before U.S. Marshals and Las Vegas police arrested them on February 1, 2020, at a hotel on Flamingo Road, as reported by KIRO 7. Both men were extradited to King County shortly after booking.
Tolbert, who was initially charged with murder and assault, went to trial first. In September 2022, a King County Superior Court jury acquitted him of first-degree murder and six counts of first-degree assault after his defense argued he had returned fire in self-defense against a third gunman, Jamel Linonell Jackson. Jurors convicted Tolbert only of unlawful possession of a firearm, and he was sentenced to 48 months on that charge, with credit for roughly 31.5 months already served, KIRO 7 reported. Jackson himself, who was wounded in the shootout and later recognized by police on hospital surveillance footage, pleaded guilty to first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and was sentenced in August 2021 to 16 months in prison, according to King 5.
Threat to a Grandmother's Boyfriend Sent Him Back to Jail
Tolbert's acquittal reshaped the case against Tolliver. Facing a defendant who could plausibly claim self-defense had swayed one jury already, prosecutors faced significant evidentiary hurdles in taking the original murder charge to trial. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office later said that accepting amended charges guaranteed legal accountability, noting that trial outcomes are inherently uncertain, per King 5.
Before that plea deal came together, Tolliver was released to electronic home monitoring at his grandmother's Kirkland home in March 2023. That arrangement collapsed quickly. He was re-arrested that May on a felony harassment charge after allegedly threatening his grandmother's boyfriend with a gun, according to MyNorthwest. King County prosecutors had strongly opposed his initial release without bail, citing flight risk and past violations, the outlet reported. Tolliver remained in jail until his June 2023 plea deal, ultimately pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter, third-degree assault, and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
A Corner That Still Bears the Scars
Before the 2020 shooting, Tolliver and Tolbert had accumulated a combined 65 arrests between them, with Tolliver alone accounting for 44 arrests and 20 prior convictions, according to King 5. Both men were legally barred from owning firearms at the time of the shootout, a fact that has fed ongoing local debate over repeat offenders and illegal gun possession in public spaces.
The shooting also permanently reshaped the block where it happened. As Hoodline previously reported, the corner McDonald's at Third and Pine boarded its entrance for good and switched to sidewalk pass-through ordering behind plexiglass in the years after the attack, with employees saying the dining room never reopened to customers. More than six years later, the gunfight remains a frequent reference point in downtown Seattle discussions about public safety and the toll of repeat violent offenders on the Third Avenue corridor.
