Murder charge filed in West Seattle shooting
A West Seattle man accused in a deadly shooting at a bar there has been charged with first-degree murder.
King County prosecutors claim Lovett J. Chambers, 63, killed Michael "Travis" Hood on Saturday following a chance encounter at a California Avenue Southwest bar.
According to charging documents, Hood, 35, was leaving the Feedback Lounge with a friend at 9:35 p.m. when they crossed paths with Chambers, who was standing outside the bar.
While his friend hopped into a Ford Ranger, Hood and Chambers – who apparently hadn't spoken prior to the shooting – exchanged words before Hood walked toward the truck. Chambers was about two feet away from Hood, and the conversation didn't go well.
According to police, Hood grabbed a shovel from the bed of the truck, took a "batter's stance" and asked Chambers "what do you want to do now?"
In response, Chambers took several steps back, pulled a pistol and shot Hood as he attempted to get to cover, Seattle Detective Timothy DeVore told the court.
Struck by several rounds, Hood was rushed by his friend to a nearby nursing home. He was ultimately taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died.
Seattle police responded to the bar, which is located in the 6400 block of California Avenue Southwest, and contacted several witnesses who described Chambers and the car he fled in. He was arrested a short time later at his home.
"The defendant's actions – the unprovoked firing of a .45 cal. semi-automatic firearm into the victim – demonstrate that he presents an extreme danger to the community," Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott O'Toole told the court.
Following her son's death, Hood's mother Brenda Hood told The Florida Times-Union her son left Jacksonville, Fla., after his two brothers died violently.
The first was killed during a robbery at a Pizza Hut he was supervising; the second was killed when he crashed a stolen car during a flight from police. Speaking with the Times-Union, Brenda Hood said her surviving son had turned a corner in his life.
"I could hear it in his voice," Brenda Hood told the Florida newspaper. "He set up his first bank account. He was getting ready to send me $ 40 and some pictures."
Chambers, who apparently has gone by several names including Cidrick Mann, was interviewed by Seattle homicide detectives following his arrest.
According to police, Chambers said Hood and his friend had followed him to his car and were making racial slurs toward him. He said they tried to get into his car, DeVore told the court, and claimed he was afraid they would attack him.
DeVore noted the shooting occurred at least 60 feet away from Chambers' car. Chambers allegedly said he could not remember what happened after he grabbed his pistol from his car.
An autopsy showed Hood had been shot three times, including two shots in the back. He died Sunday.
Charged with first-degree murder, Chambers remains jailed on $ 5 million bail. He faces 25 years in prison at a minimum if convicted as charged; due to his extensive criminal history, he would likely face far longer.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 8 in the King County Courthouse.
Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.
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