Double homicide update: recording studio armed robbery, dozen people hid, murder charge
ASHEVILLE — Recently-released officer response notes and 911 calls reveal the gunfight turned double homicide on Leicester Highway Dec. 22 began as an armed robbery of a recording studio, with a dozen people hiding from the assailants.
One 911 caller around 11:20 p.m. Dec. 22 reported that they were hiding in a studio at 353 New Leicester Highway in West Asheville because “someone’s robbing us and they shot someone,” according to a transcript obtained by the Citizen Times.
“Y’all gotta hurry,” the caller told dispatch.
The operator asked if they saw the person that got shot, and the caller responded that there’s a camera.
The operator asked if the caller saw the shooting through the camera.
“They did. They knew that they seen him out there about to rob us and then we all ran in here,” the caller responded.
The operator told them to ask the others if anybody has seen the person who was shot.
“I don’t, I don’t know. I don’t, everyone is trying to protect themselves right now,” the caller said.
A couple minutes later, the caller said they heard a vehicle start and thought that the attempted robbers had left.
When officers arrived just before 11:25 p.m., they entered the building to find one "subject down" from a gunshot wound to the head, according to officer response notes obtained by the Citizen Times. Officers also found “approximately a dozen” people and seven firearms inside the building.
APD later identified the deceased as Chase Christian VanLeeuwen, of Candler. The 30-year-old was shot at approximately 11 p.m. and died around the same time, according to his death certificate obtained by the Citizen Times.
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Thirty minutes after officers arrived at the studio, dispatch advised them that a gunshot wound victim showed up at Mission Hospital, later identified as Marckia Ornette Jones, 20, of Asheville.
Jones was dropped off at the emergency room front door of the hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to her death investigation report. A witness said Jones was brought to the hospital in a black Lexus RX 350 that was "occupied 3+ times." The driver of the vehicle said he left to get Jones' family, according to the notes.
Emergency surgery and resuscitative measures were attempted, but Jones died in the operating room, the report said. Her death certificate says she was shot at approximately the same time as Vanleeuwen, around 11 p.m.
Her autopsy reveals that Jones was involved in the attempted robbery at the Asheville business, according to the Buncombe County Medical Examiner.
“During the course of the robbery, the decedent shot another individual and was then shot by another party in the business,” her autopsy said. “She was taken by private vehicle to a local hospital but succumbed to her injuries.”
However, APD detectives charged one 27-year-old man, Tristin Marquese Maewether, of Asheville, with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and robbery with a dangerous weapon for his alleged role in the death of VanLeeuwen, according to a pervious news release from the department.
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Maewether was already in the custody of the N.C. Department of Corrections for a parole violation when he was charged for this incident and booked into the Buncombe County Detention Facility on Feb. 16.
His attorney, Kerry Glasoe-Grant, told the Citizen Times that Maewether has no bond for these charges and no bond on the previous parole violation. He is currently serving a 90-day sentence in prison for the parole violation and will return to the Buncombe County Detention Facility when that's completed.
“Maewether has not been charged in connection to Marckia Jones’ death, no one has as of yet,” Capt. Joe Silberman told the Citizen Times over email Feb. 17.
“I cannot speak to specifics on Jones’ death at this time,” Silberman said. “We hope to be able to release more soon. I’m optimistic there will be additional charges on other people who played a role in what happened late that night.”
Maewether has an upcoming court appearance in Buncombe County District Court on March 7, according to the clerk's office. But Glasoe-Grant said his 90-day sentence won't be completed by then and his court appearance will likely be continued until May.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Dozen people hid during December armed robbery turned double homicide