WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Motorcycle stolen; gas siphoned; window-smashing suspect charged

Two reader reports and a followup tonight:

STOLEN MOTORCYCLE: Gary sent that photo, reporting: “Stolen off the street in Seaview early Thursday, September 10, 2020. 2006 Harley Davidson Deluxe, metallic black paint. Notable: The front tire has a wide white wall, the rear tire is all black.” If you see it, call 911.

GAS SIPHONED: From Andrejs: “This morning, while returning a rental truck to U-Haul on 35th, the employee checking me in indicated that last night someone siphoned gas out of most of the trucks parked on their lot.”

Now, the followup:

(Sunday night photo by Jason Hubbard)

WINDOW-SMASHING SUSPECT CHARGED: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 33-year-old Aikeem L. Roberts with malicious mischief and assault in last Sunday’s Junction QFC window-smashing rampage. The charging document includes more details on what police were told happened that night, beyond what we reported in our first followup:

… Roberts frequents the business on a regular basis. On this occasion Roberts entered the store carrying a backpack, blue reusable type bag, and two QFC paper bags which appeared to be full of product. Roberts walked throughout the store for several minutes. Roberts was approached by (the store manager) and informed that he would need to speak with store management if he was going to be inside of the store with store bags that were already loaded with merchandise prior to his arrival, and would need to leave the bags with store employees at the front while he shopped. Roberts was unhappy with this instruction and proceeded to walk toward the register where he started to check out a can of beans. Roberts decided not to buy the item and left it and walked out of the store.

At approximately 2114 hrs Roberts re-entered the store without his bags and approached (the manager) near store register #10. Roberts became increasingly agitated and proceeded to pick up multiple plastic bottles of seltzer water that were on a display and threw the bottles at (the manager), striking him in the head and arms. The bottles were also thrown at the checkstand computer screen and Plexiglas divider, damaging them. (The manager) and other store employees retreated to the back of the store to remove themselves from Roberts’ violent outburst. Roberts proceeded to throw several potted plants at the checkout registers. He made his way through the store and knocked over products from the shelves. He knocked over a display case of glass honey bottles. He picked up one of the honey bottles and threw it at a freezer door and shattered the door’s glass. He returned to the register area and caused further damage to that area by throwing around merchandise. He attempted to break out a store window by throwing a display case at it but was unsuccessful. Roberts then exited the store via the southwest exit and once outside, he picked up several stones from the ground and threw the stones at the store windows, breaking out 16 panels of plate glass. He also opened and slammed the automatic door several times, shattering the glass and rendering the door inoperable.

Roberts remains in jail tonight, bail still set at $5,000. In earlier coverage, we mentioned his record included stealing five cars from one night at an Eastside dealership; his eventual arrest in California made news.

13 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Motorcycle stolen; gas siphoned; window-smashing suspect charged"

  • Lisa September 10, 2020 (8:35 pm)

    “Affinity for Infinitis.” Tee hee. Thank you San Rafael police. 

  • Mark47n September 11, 2020 (6:55 am)

    Many people will leave their Harley with the ignition unlocked, all you have to do is turn it on, start it up and ride away.That’s a bummer. I have a 2015 Softail Deluxe with white walls and chrome and I love it. I hope the owner gets his back.

    • Gary September 19, 2020 (9:31 am)

      She’s back, not much worse for the experience, thanks for the good thoughts. I had the ignition off – matter of fact, the switch was still in the off position when I found her in impound. Now, I lock the forks, too. Enjoy your Deluxe, safely.

  • Lola September 11, 2020 (8:11 am)

    I am sorry but these shop owners and Store Mgrs. & Employee’s should not have to put up with this kind of stuff from Mentally ill people.  It is getting to the point where I do not even want to go into shops anymore because of this type of behavior.  Didn’t we used to take them to Harborview Mental Facility to have them evaluated?  The public, & police should not have to determine if they need to go, it should be the first place they take them, then if competent enough to stand a trial or whatever the procedure they should do.  Lets just hope that he gets the help he needs before they release him yet again for crimes he should be paying for. 

  • Sillygoose September 11, 2020 (10:56 am)

    I am so sorry about your bike, I live a block away looked at my cameras to see if I saw anything on them nothing.  So sad I hope it is found.

  • WSMom September 11, 2020 (11:23 am)

    To the WSB: thank you for all your tireless efforts in keeping our WS community up to date on events that affect us.I hope that the employees and shoppers at QFC are all doing ok. It must have been quite alarming for them. The fact that Mr. Roberts left and then returned, without bags, leaving his hands available to pick up products in the store and use them as projectiles, and that he apparently  went into attack mode so quickly upon re-entering, suggests premeditation and planning on his part. Mr. Roberts may well have some mental illness, but it seems he could still form & execute a vindictive plan. Plus his criminal history is concerning and shows that his conduct at QFC was not an aberration. For the sake of public safety, I hope he remains in custody for an appropriate amount of time, and then once out on DOC custody, he engages fully with the process & avails himself of all possible programming.

  • Alex S. September 11, 2020 (3:31 pm)

    Reading that story about the QFC-smasher’s criminal history in California, and also noticing on the Muni Court records that he was arrested and given a slap on the wrist for the exact same violent crimes last year (assault & property destruction) it’s fairly apparent he’s a lot more criminal than he is mentally ill.  But when a judge determines he’s incompetent again, he can get right back out on the street in a matter of days, doing what he does best: terrorizing people and destroying stuff.  Seattle is a great place for criminals now, so I would imagine he’ll stick around. 

  • Wsprayers September 12, 2020 (12:33 pm)

    What are his charges? $5,000 for bail is not alot of money he most likely caused more damage even than 5,000 dollars. We need reform we need to vote and be involved in decisions our state city and neighborhoods are making in mental health and crime . We need a balance of both red and blue right and left  punishment consequences accountability combined with social services and medical/mental health 

    • WSB September 12, 2020 (1:27 pm)

      The charges are in the story. Malicious mischief and assault. Bail is not meant to keep someone behind bars until their case is resolved; it’s meant to be a reasonable guarantee that they will show up for future hearings. So far, it seems to be a barrier for this defendant, as after six days he is still in jail. – TR

  • 1994 September 12, 2020 (4:06 pm)

     Thanks for attaching the link to the CA newspaper article. Mr Roberts bail in San Rafael was initially set at $200,000. Roberts’ criminal history in Marin County includes convictions for resisting arrest, possession of stolen property and driving without a license, according to court records. Sounds like he is nothing but trouble, yet he manages to travel between WA and CA in between being in and out of jail. I feel bad for the essential QFC staff that suffered trauma from this guy. He should be barred from entering any QFC.

  • 1994 September 12, 2020 (4:45 pm)

    I am sure the  San Rafael, CA police would not be surprised to hear about his recent threatening and destructive behaviors. He is a frequent flyer with those behaviors according to the new article linked by the WSD.

  • jonathan vogel September 13, 2020 (10:50 am)

    Well, at least they didn’t have to go far to find this perp that was trashing the store. Jail sounds about right for this guy. Not the first time, either.

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