Repeat offender who was involved in a gun battle on Seattle’s Capitol Hill sentenced to 16 years in prison

Press Release

One bystander killed in the gunfire - defendant was injured and then found to illegally possess both drugs and firearms

Seattle - A 50-year-old repeat offender was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 16 years in prison for possessing firearms while distributing drugs and violating his conditions of supervision from prior convictions, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Ruchell Gilbert was on supervised release for a 2012 conviction for illegal firearms possession and drug trafficking, when he became involved in a shoot-out in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. One woman died after being hit by gunfire. At today's sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said, "A young woman died that night from a gun battle on Capitol Hill. That is exactly the kind of danger that occurs when you have people dealing drugs while armed with firearms."

"This case is a stark reminder of why it is illegal for felons to possess firearms," said U.S. Attorney Gorman. "In this case Mr. Gilbert got into an argument about a blocking parked car and reached for his gun with tragic consequences. The death of 20-year-old Essence Greene Madden has devastated her family and loved ones, and robbed the community of someone who was focused on doing good in the world."

According to records filed in the case, Gilbert had been released from prison and began his term of supervised release on May 30, 2022. Barely a year later, in July 2023, an unruly crowd gathered on Capitol Hill for a street racing event and Gilbert is seen driving a car which was ultimately blocked by another vehicle. Gilbert is seen getting out and getting into some kind of argument with those in the blocking car. On surveillance video from a nearby business it appears that Gilbert pulls up his shirt to flash a gun in his waistband. After returning to the car one of the people Gilbert confronted starts firing at his vehicle. Gilbert pulls his gun and fires back in a volley of at least four shots. One of the shots appears to hit a bystander in the head. Essence Greene Madden died at Harborview Medical Center.

Gilbert drove from the scene and later is taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of a gunshot wound. When federal probation officers learned Gilbert had been involved in the shootout, they got a warrant for his arrest and to search his vehicle. In Gilbert's truck they found distribution quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl pills, cocaine, and marijuana as well as a loaded firearm. However, the firearm he used in the shoot-out has never been found.

On March 14, 2024, Gilbert pleaded guilty to Possession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Distribute and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime.

Today in court Essence Greene Madden's father, Eldon Madden, said, "The decision that Mr. Gilbert made, changed the lives of our family, friends, and community…. (my daughter) was stripped of her life due to acts of anger - anger is what drove this incident…. My child did not deserve to die in the manner that she died in, she was on her way to being a productive, loving, caring, person who helped preserve life not take it away. That's why she chose to work in the medical field."

In asking for a 192-month sentence, prosecutors noted Gilbert's lengthy history of violent crimes and his unwillingness to change even with court supervision. "Mr. Gilbert appeared to be doing well on supervision, but in reality, it was an act. In retrospect, it is clear that Mr. Gilbert continued to deal drugs and continued to carry firearms - firearms he was more than willing to use if he felt himself provoked," prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

Judge Martinez imposed five years of supervised release to follow the prison term.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and U.S. Probation Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vince Lombardi.

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Updated December 13, 2024