Seattle – A 26-year-old Everett resident pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to possession of a stolen firearm in connection with the theft of a high-powered rifle taken during a downtown Seattle altercation on May 30, 2020, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jacob D. Little was captured by both Seattle Police surveillance photos and images posted online with the large bag used to store the Colt M4 rifle with a suppressor. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones will sentence Little on January 6, 2023.
Using not only the images captured of the scene of the civil unrest, but tips from the public, Seattle Police investigators linked Little to the stolen firearm. Images showed Little removing a heavy bag – subsequently identified as a bag containing a department-issued rifle – from a Seattle Police vehicle parked outside the downtown Nordstrom store. The vehicles were heavily damaged and ultimately burned. In the course of the investigation, law enforcement obtained electronic messages sent by Little after the theft in which he appeared to be negotiating the sale of the firearm. Little stated in the messages that he had removed the sling and suppressor and the “red dot” (a type of optical sight) from the rifle. All those accessories were present on the rifle when stolen from the Seattle Police vehicle.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, both prosecutors and defense will recommend a sentence of 16 months in prison.
Little is facing charges in King County Superior Court connected to an unrelated shooting incident on August 30, 2020. In that case, it is alleged that Little fired multiple shots when fights broke out at a gathering of over 200 car enthusiasts in the parking lot of the Uwajimaya grocery store in Renton. Little was observed firing a gun into the air and into a crowd of people. In January 2021, Little was charged with second degree murder and assault.
The stolen firearm in this case was not the gun used in the Renton shooting. The stolen firearm in this case was ultimately recovered after a third party surrendered it to law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force, ,the United States Marshals Service, and the Marysville Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham.