The chief suspect in the murder of two gay men in Seattle last month has reportedly been recorded committing an armed robbery in his home state of New Jersey.

Police in Seattle, Washington have been seeking Ali Muhammed Brown, 30, in connection with the double murder of Ahmed Said, 27, and Dwone Anderson-Young, 23, on 1 June.

Brown was identified as a suspect after his fingerprints were found in Said’s car, which was stolen and then abandoned after the incident, and from bullet shell casings which matched a gun stolen from the mother of Brown’s children, reports KING-TV.

Now police in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, have also issued a warrant for Brown’s arrest, following an armed robbery and attempted carjacking which took place outside a coffee shop on Sunday morning.

CCTV footage of the robbery, as well as eye-witness testimonies, match the crime to a man of Brown’s description.

Police are still investigating the possibility that the murder was a hate crime. Anderson-Young’s mother has confirmed that her son was gay, and the victims are believed to have been returning home with Brown from Seattle gay bar RPlace.

Investigators have since announced that they believe Brown may have tracked his victims using gay phone app Grindr, and that the incident may have been motivated by Brown’s religious beliefs.

He is considered armed and dangerous. The state of Washington retains the death penalty and considers the murder of more than one person to be a capital offense, although it currently has a capital punishment moratorium.