FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Morgantown Police Arrest Suspect in Connection with Homicide

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - At approximately 3:07 a.m. on Sunday September 18, 2022, a male suspect, later identified as Eric Alastaire Sneed, 34 years of age, approached an occupied vehicle that was parked on the south side of the street in the 200 block of Walnut Street. Sneed approached the parked vehicle from behind and then fired several shots from a handgun into the rear passenger area of the vehicle.

An officer from the Morgantown Police Department was driving on High Street and was crossing Walnut Street at the exact time of the shooting and observed Sneed firing into the vehicle. The officer pursued Sneed who fled on foot. A brief foot chase ensued in the downtown area and several officers that were assigned to a downtown foot patrol detail and others that were on patrol in the area pursued the suspect and ultimately took him into custody near the city parking garage on Chestnut Street. The handgun that Sneed was believed to have used in the shooting was also recovered during the foot pursuit.

The vehicle that Sneed shot into drove away from the scene of the shooting and drove directly to Ruby Memorial Hospital. Two people were seated in the rear of the vehicle at the time of the shooting, a male and a female. Both sustained gunshot wounds. The male victim, identified as Marcelius Likely, 34 years of age, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The female victim is still being treated for her injuries. The female is not being identified at this time pending notification to her family.

Sneed has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and is awaiting arraignment in Monongalia County Magistrate Court.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing and anyone with any information can contact the Morgantown Police Department Detective Division at 304-284-7454.

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