Aaron Brown Myers, 51 — who was charged with murder in the second degree in the June 5 shooting death of 17-year-old Kent-Meridian High School student Hazrat Ali Rohani — posted bond on July 17, meeting the $2 million bail set by the King County Superior Court.
The development arrives after Myers’s defense team unsuccessfully motioned for the court to reduce his bail to $100,000 pending his trial.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Myers approached and confronted three teenage boys on June 5, including Hazrat, with a firearm as they walked through the parking lot of Big 5 Sporting Goods in Renton. He saw a gun in the hand of one of the boys and believed they aimed to commit an “armed robbery,” Myers had stated to police.
Myers fired multiple shots at Hazrat as he straddled a second teenage boy.
The King County Medical Examiner’s autopsy determined Hazrat sustained a “minimum” of seven gunshot wounds, one to his side, and six to his back.
Law enforcement later determined the teenage boys to have been in possession of airsoft guns.
In the motion for the reduction of his bail, Myers’s defense argued that Myers served neither as a risk to fail to appear for future court hearings nor likely to commit a violent crime nor interfere with the administration of justice.
“What is not in doubt is that his motivation to act that day came from his desire to protect others from harm that he perceived was about to occur,” stated the defense’s motion, filed on July 10. “[…] The defense respectfully requests that bail be reduced to an amount that he and his family can afford.”
The motion provided a “statement of facts” regarding the June 5 events, stating Myers acted quickly after believing the “young men were about to commit an armed robbery.”
“The young man with the gun initially complied with Aaron’s orders… but then began arguing with Aaron,” the motion stated. “Aaron then moved to secure him while ordering the other men to get on the ground.”
The motion stated Myers observed another one of the “young men” in possession of a gun in his waistband.
“When that young man suddenly turned away from Aaron and reached towards the gun, Aaron believed that he was about to be fired on,” the motion stated. “In response, Aaron fired multiple times at the armed individual in order to protect himself from being shot.”
Attached in the defense’s motion included 36 character witness statements from Myers’s friends, family, neighbors, and professional and personal relationships.
The list of character witnesses for Myers included Newcastle council member Steve Tallman, journalists, attorneys, a consulate and U.S. diplomat and more.
“I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand Aaron’s unwavering commitment to public safety and community well-being,” Tallman wrote in his statement to the court.
The King County Superior Court held a motion hearing on July 12 regarding the defense’s motion to reduce Myer’s bail.
The defense’s argument at the hearing included statements from City of Newcastle council member Steve Tallman, speaking on behalf of Myers, in addition to Myers’s wife, and a friend of Myers.
Arguments from prosecutors at the hearing included statements from the father of Hazrat and the father of a second teenage boy involved at the scene of the shooting.
Judge Johanna Bender, overseeing the hearing, denied the defense’s motion, maintaining Myer’s bail at $2 million.
On July 15, the court received a victim statement from the father of Hazrat, additionally serving as the guardian of his nephew, another one of the three teenage boys present at the shooting.
“My family and I immigrated from Afghanistan to America in 2016 for a happy and prosperous life,” stated Hazrat’s father in his victim statement. “We started a new life from zero and left our mother, father, relatives, and friends to live a happy and peaceful life here, but this incident destroyed all my hopes.”
Court documents provided a translation of the statements, written in Dari, an Afghan dialect of the Persian language.
“Your honor, my son, Hazrat Ali [Rohani] who was 17-years-old… was brutally shot dead by the accused in an unjust, cruel, and heartbreaking incident,” Hazrat’s father stated.
“My other sons and daughters and nephew… do not have the courage to go to school because of fear and do not feel safe,” Hazrat’s father stated. “My family and I sincerely hope that the defendant will be punished severely.”
One day prior to Myers posting bail, Judge Bender signed conditions for electronic home detention at Myers’s Newcastle residence.
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