Seattle Man Arrested After Panhandler Attack, Jailed On Other Charges

SEATTLE, WA —A Seattle man, who is a repeat criminal offender, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to six years in prison on charges related to gun possession, drug dealing and violating the terms of a supervised work-release program, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington announced.

Marvin Traylor, 53, was arrested in February 2021 for dealing drugs while armed with a gun. Officers observed Traylor using the gun to threaten an elderly panhandler during a confrontation in Seattle's International District, according to court records.

U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour handed out the six-year sentence to Traylor: five years for the use of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime, and an additional year for violating the conditions of his supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

According to court records, Traylor has a history of drug dealing in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood and he served time on a drug conviction related to a 2018 arrest.

Upon his release from prison in 2019, Traylor began a supervised release program, which was administered by the King County's Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, court records stated.

But authorities said Traylor continued to deal drugs.

In February 2021, Seattle Police said an undercover officer observed Traylor making drug sales in the 12th Avenue and Jackson Street area of the International District.

According to court records, when an elderly Asian man came to the street corner to ask for money, Traylor punched and kicked the man and held an item concealed in his pocket to the man's head, later hitting the man with the concealed item. Bystanders eventually separated the pair.

A short time later, court documents stated, officers arrested Traylor and found a loaded handgun in the same pocket that Traylor had used to threaten and strike the man. The gun also had been reported stolen.

Court records stated that Traylor also had small bags of crack cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine on him at the time of the arrest.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Lombardi prosecuted the case and, according to his office, he called for a significant sentence because Traylor's lawbreaking had been escalating instead of diminishing, which had been the stated goal of him being on federal probation.