Washington Man Charged with Hate Crime for Shooting and Damaging Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall

A Washington man was indicted at this time by a federal grand jury in Seattle, Washington, in reference to a Could 15, 2018, capturing that broken a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Corridor.

Mikey Diamond Starrett, aka Michael Jason Layes, 50, of Olympia, Washington, was charged in a superseding indictment with one depend of harm to non secular property, together with the usage of a harmful weapon. He additionally was charged with one depend of use of a firearm throughout and in relation to against the law of violence. The unique indictment charged the defendant with one depend of illegal possession of an unregistered firearm.

In line with the indictment, on or about Could 15, 2018, the defendant used a semi-automatic rifle to deface, injury and destroy spiritual actual property on the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Corridor of Yelm, Washington, due to the spiritual character of the property.

If convicted, the defendant faces a sentence of as much as 20 years in jail on the cost of harm to non secular property involving the usage of a harmful weapon. If convicted on the illegal possession of an unregistered firearm cost, the defendant faces a sentence of as much as 10 years in jail. The defendant faces a sentence of at the least 10 years in jail to run consecutive to any sentence imposed for the remaining firearms offense. 

Assistant Lawyer Common Kristen Clarke of the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Lawyer Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington made the announcement.

The ATF Seattle Area Division, the FBI Seattle Workplace and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Workplace investigated the matter. Trial Lawyer Matthew Tannenbaum of the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Lawyer Rebecca S. Cohen for the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case. 

For extra data and sources concerning the division’s work to fight hate crimes, go to www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed harmless until and till confirmed responsible past an affordable doubt in a courtroom of legislation.