Horace Lorenzo Anderson, Jr.The man who shot and killed 19-year-old Horace Lorenzo Anderson, Jr. on the edge of CHOP in June 2020 was sentenced to just over 14 years in prison Friday.
Marcel Long, also a teen at the time of the murder, will have credit for time served and also will serve three years in community custody, according to the King County Prosecutor’s office.
CHS reported here in May on the deal reached for Long to plead guilty to a reduced charge of second degree murder for the 2020 killing.
“There is never a guarantee of what will happen at a trial, even in a case such as this one,” the office said Friday about the deal and the judge’s decision. “Thursday’s sentencing for Murder in the Second Degree – a Class A felony – ensures that Mr. Long will have clear accountability.”
Prosecutors say Long, then 18, shot and killed Anderson at 10th and Pine in a June 2020 fracas after what witnesses said was a night of gambling and fireworks as crowds gathered and the CHOP zone took shape amid Black Lives Matter demonstrations, community meetings and film screenings, and art.
Marcel LongThe murder and the militarized response by police who had abandoned patrols in the area and swept in as Anderson was being treated by camp medics on the Rancho Bravo patio sent a shock through the city. Tensions rose quickly around CHOP as increased security and firearms began to appear as SPD leadership and then-Chief Carmen Best made inflammatory statements to the public that further heightened tensions.
A week later, 16-year-old Antonio Mays, Jr. was shot and killed and a 14-year-old boy riding with him suffered critical injuries on a night of driveby fears and uncertainty including the stolen jeep speeding across Cal Anderson and through the protest camp before a confrontation on 12th Ave that ended in bloodshed. Days after that, then-Mayor Jenny Durkan ordered Seattle Police to sweep the camp.
The victim’s mother Donnitta Marie Sinclair told CHS the plea deal for Long was an “injustice” and that she believes prosecutors and city officials wanted to avoid a public trial involving the weeks around the abandonment of the East Precinct and the formation of CHOP.
“Our system let us down,” Sinclair said.
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