Two people were arrested Tuesday in relation to a fatal shooting at the Chelsea Inn Hotel in Spenard, although neither is suspected of being the shooter, charges say.
Soo Seo, the owner of the Chelsea Inn Hotel, described a fight that broke out in the lobby of the hotel late on Oct. 21. During the altercation, a semi-automatic pistol dropped to the floor and was picked up by Sean Smith, 48, who was staying at the hotel, according to an affidavit filed by Detective Jeffrey Elbie. Smith grabbed the weapon and placed it in a room adjoining his, the charges said.
Seo said the man who started the fight left and later returned with another person. Shots were fired through the hotel window and fatally struck 48-year-old hotel employee Duane Fields.
Shannelle MacPherson, 34, told detectives she heard screams and saw Fields dead in the lobby. According to the charges, she grabbed two knives, two guns and a cellphone from the scene and brought them to Smith’s room, which adjoined her own.
MacPherson was charged Monday with five charges of tampering with physical evidence, police wrote in an alert. Smith is facing charges of misconduct involving a weapon and tampering with evidence.
Police had not identified any suspects in Fields' death as of Wednesday afternoon, but said the “investigation is ongoing and more arrests may be forthcoming.”