Man charged in Kent murder also part of deadly SR 18 crash

Published 4:18 pm Thursday, June 11, 2026

A 23-year-old man faces a first-degree murder charge for allegedly shooting a 25-year-old man May 24 at a Kent apartment complex. He also reportedly drove a vehicle over 100 mph that crashed June 4 in Federal Way along State Route 18 and killed an 18-year-old woman and 4-year-old girl who were in his car.

King County prosecutors charged Robert Bernard Ousley, who has connections to Seattle and Las Vegas, on June 10 in the shooting of Marcus J. Pressley in the parking lot of the Chandler Bay Apartments, 8708 S. 235th Place. He allegedly shot Pressley nine times due to some perceived notion of retaliation, according to charging documents.

Ousley also reportedly was the driver of a vehicle, less than two weeks after the killing, that at about 1 a.m. June 4 on State Route 18 in Federal Way near Interstate 5 crashed while traveling more than 100 mph fleeing from a Washington State Patrol trooper that had seen him speeding.

Prosecutors allege the woman killed in the crash, Aniya Danielle Wellington as identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office and who died from multiple blunt force injuries, was one of the witnesses to the Kent killing and reportedly the girlfriend of Ousley. Lashea M. Cook, 4, also was killed in the crash from multiple blunt force injuries, according to the medical examiner. Charging papers didn’t indicate the relationship of the 4-year-old girl to the others in the vehicle.

Kent Police detectives were building a case against Ousley for killing Pressley when they found out he was involved in the fatal crash. A detective interviewed Ousley June 9 at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Police arrested and booked him June 10 into the King County jail, according to jail records.

Ousley remains in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle with bail set at $10 million. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. June 22 in the GA Courtroom of the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

In addition to the fatal shooting, Ousley is under investigation for his role in the vehicular homicides that also injured a third occupant of his vehicle.

The shooting

Kent Police responded at about 3:59 a.m. May 24 to the Chandler Bay Apartments for a shooting in the parking lot. Officers found Pressley with gunshot wounds. He died at the scene.

Witnesses told police that Pressley had gone to Xstadium club in the Pioneer Square area of Seattle on the evening of May 23 and into the early morning of May 24.

A witness said they provided a ride from the Seattle club to Kent for Pressley, Ousley and Wellington, according to charging papers. There did not appear to be any disagreement or argument with anyone in the vehicle.

Pressley got out of the vehicle at the apartment complex, apparently intoxicated, and walked toward his apartment. The driver returned to the vehicle after hugging Pressley goodbye.

Ousley, however, had exited the vehicle and was standing near it with a gun drawn, according to charging documents. Ousley then reportedly began firing the gun at Pressley. Ousley hopped back into the vehicle and told the driver to drive as he kept his gun out.

According to a witness, Ousley reportedly said Pressley’s homies are the ones that killed his homie two years ago, and made reference to himself that he is “21” and Pressley “D Dub,” which according to a detective in the case are references to possible gang affiliations.

Ousley had the driver eventually drop him off where he reportedly met someone else in a vehicle to give him a ride.

Detectives were able to get Ousley’s cellphone number and used it to track him the morning of the killing from nearby cell towers between Seattle and Kent and to collect video from areas where he traveled, according to charging papers.

Detectives interviewed Ousley and he denied knowing Pressley, He also said he couldn’t recall what he did on May 23 and 24 and didn’t remember being with Pressley the morning of the killing. He said he had dated Wellington for about six months.

When a detective questioned Ousley more about being there when Pressley was killed, he eventually asked to end the conversation, which the detective did.

The criminal history of Ousley includes a first-degree robbery charge in 2022 that was resolved to a first-degree theft and a conviction of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in 2024. He also was charged in addition to the murder charge in Kent with unlawful possession of a firearm.

In Las Vegas, Ousley’s criminal history includes first-degree home invasion and grand larceny of a gun and conspiracy to buy, possess, and receive stolen property, according to charging papers.