A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted an Olympia man who is the prime suspect in a string of Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Halls attacks from 2018 to 2020.
Federal law enforcement arrested Mikey Diamond Starrett, formerly known as Michael Jason Layes, 50, on Sept. 8, 2021, on suspicion of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm, The Olympian previously reported.
However, Starrett had not been charged with a crime related to the Kingdom Halls attacks until Thursday when he was charged with an attack in Yelm. Those attacks affected Kingdom and Assembly Halls in Thurston, Mason and Pierce counties.
A fire destroyed the Olympia Kingdom Hall on Cain Road in July 2018 and the Lacey Kingdom Hall on Sixth Avenue Southeast in December 2018. Federal and local agencies offered rewards totaling $61,000 for information on the attacks in 2018 and 2019.
Starrett's case has been moving forward in federal district court in Tacoma. Meanwhile, the local Jehovah's Witness community has been rallying to rebuild its Olympia Kingdom Hall by 2023.
In a news release, the United States Department of Justice announced Starrett had been charged in a superseding indictment with one count of damage to religious property with a dangerous weapon.
The jury also charged Starrett with using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, per the release. In his original indictment, he was only charged with the initial firearm crime.
In the first two counts, Starrett has been accused of intentionally firing a semi-automatic rifle at the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Yelm on May 15, 2018. He allegedly did this because of the "religious character of the property," according to court records.
The indictment does not include any allegations that he committed arson against any Kingdom Halls that were damaged or destroyed by fire.
If convicted, Starrett could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison on the charge of damage to a religious property. He could also be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm.
For the remaining firearm offense, Starrett could face a sentence of at least 10 years in prison that would run consecutively with any other sentence.
Starrett's trial date has been delayed repeatedly since his arrest in 2021. As of Aug. 9, U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo had ordered the trial date be scheduled for Dec. 5.
For now, Starrett remains detained at the Federal Detention Facility in SeaTac.
Trial Attorney Matthew Tannenbaum, who works in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca S. Cohen for the Western District of Washington, have been prosecuting the case, according to the release.
The investigation into Starrett has been led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Seattle Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Seattle Office and the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who works in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and U.S. Attorney Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington announced the indictment, per the release.
