Update: Victims ID'd in Dec. 22 gunfight in West Asheville: police investigating

Karen Chávez, Asheville Citizen Times
Updated ·2 min read
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ASHEVILLE - Two people are dead after a late-night gunfight Dec. 22, according to a news release from the Asheville Police Department.

APD patrol officers responded to the 300 block of New Leicester highway around 11:20 p.m. Dec. 22 for reports of a gunshot wound. There, they found a deceased man who had been shot inside a business, according to the news statement.

A half-hour after the first call, dispatchers notified officers that a person with a gunshot wound had been dropped off at Mission Hospital. Despite efforts to save them, the second victim also succumbed to their injuries.

Just after 4 p.m. police released the names of the two victims after notifying next of kin.

Chase Christian VanLeeuwen, 30, of Alexander, was found deceased inside the business on New Leicester, and Marckia Ornette Jones, 20, of Asheville, succumbed to her injuries at Mission Hospital, according to an APD news release.

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APD officers, detectives and forensic technicians are actively investigating as they work through a number of leads. A doctor with the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is also on scene assisting.

Detectives have identified persons of interest and continue to follow through on several leads as forensic technicians analyze physical evidence.

"No one is custody currently, but we have developed persons of interest," Samantha Booth, APD spokesperson told the Citizen Times by email Dec. 23. "There is no ongoing or known threat to the public at this time. We asked that any member of the Asheville community please contact us if they have any further information about the incident."

Detectives are asking if anyone has any information about this case to send an anonymous tip by texting TIP2APD to 847411 or using the TIP2APD smartphone application (search "Asheville PD" in your app store). You can also contact APD at 828-252-1110.

These are the seventh and eighth homicides this year in the City of Asheville.

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This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: double homicide Dec. 22 Asheville New Leicester Highway