On the morning of January 29, 2017, 52-year-old Patrice Pitts, also known as Patrice Toliver, was shot and killed in downtown Seattle. The attack happened around 3:30 a.m. in front of the St. Charles Hotel on 3rd Avenue after an altercation that began when Pitts reportedly tried to buy drugs and argued with occupants of a dark green van. Witnesses said Pitts had struck the van and, moments later, was standing with two other men when a masked man walked past, turned, and opened fire. Pitts was struck multiple times, taken to Harborview Medical Center, and died of his injuries.

Surveillance footage showed a dark green van and a Porsche Cayenne shadowing the gunman’s movements. About a week later an officer stopped a van matching that description and identified the driver as Darryl Glen Peterson. In early April 2017 Seattle homicide detectives, with the gang unit and help from a confidential informant, arrested Peterson, then 36, and another man. Peterson was charged with first-degree murder and illegal firearm possession; the second man was booked for investigation of murder. Police said they believed the shooting resulted from the earlier drug-related dispute.

If anyone knew Patrice, was in downtown Seattle that night, or has information about the van or Porsche Cayenne, please come forward.