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Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Washington

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 30, 2017
Annette L. Hayes
, United States Attorney
Contact: Emily Langlie

Felon Wounded in Drug Deal Gunfight Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Drug and Gun Crimes

One Man Killed in Early Morning Shootout at Downtown Seattle Gas Station

A 24 -year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to five years in prison and five years of supervised release for three felony counts related to illegal gun possession and drug distribution, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  DION VINCENT HOOKS survived an August 2015, gun battle inside a car at a downtown Seattle Shell gas station.  In the shooting, another young man was shot in the head and killed.  The shooting occurred during a drug deal involving HOOKS and three others.  Hooks pleaded guilty last March to being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said, “any number of people could have been shot and killed at that service station . . . with drunk felons with firearms.”
 
“This case demonstrates yet again that guns and drugs don’t mix,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  “One person killed and bullets flying – with those who happened to be in the area very much at risk.  My office is steadfastly committed to working with our state and local partners to prosecute federally those who risk the safety of our neighborhoods and communities without a second thought.”
 
According to records filed in the case, two men drove into the Shell station on Denny Way in Seattle intending to do a drug deal.  Different witnesses have said the deal was for marijuana, or for prescription cough syrup, or Xanax.  What is known is that after HOOKS and another man got into the back seat of the car, gunfire erupted and 22-year-old Wafi Kilaouy was shot in the head and killed.  Frankie Miranda and HOOKS were both shot but survived.  The car’s driver managed to get out of the car uninjured and fled the scene.  Miranda was sentenced last month to ten years in prison.  The forensic evidence indicates HOOKS did not fire his weapon.
 
The shooting on Lower Queen Anne Hill was the latest in a string of convictions for HOOKS.  As a juvenile he was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm following a “shots fired” incident at Laurelhurst Park in Seattle.  In 2010, HOOKS was convicted of robbery and second degree assault with a deadly weapon for robbing two school classmates at gunpoint.  In 2011, HOOKS was sentenced to four years in prison for promoting prostitution.  He was released from custody about a year before the shooting in this case.
 
In imposing the sentence, Judge Lasnik noted that after he was shot, but before he was arrested in this case, HOOKS had turned his life around and abandoned his criminal lifestyle.
 
The investigation revealed that three days before the shooting at the Shell station, HOOKS and Kilaouy burglarized a marijuana store in North Seattle while armed with at least one firearm.
 
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs.
 
Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Public Affairs Officer Emily Langlie at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov.
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Seattle Field Division