Man charged with murdering teen outside of Renton Big 5 makes $2 million bail

Aaron Brown Myers, the man charged with murdering 17-year-old Hazrat Ali Rohani outside of a Renton sporting goods store, has posted the $2 million bond set by the King County Superior Court, records show.

Myers, 51, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree assault following the June 5 confrontation that ended with him allegedly shooting Rohani seven times. Rohani died at the scene.

Myers, who is not a law enforcement officer, had tried to apprehend Rohani and his friends after seeing an airsoft gun they were attempting to return to the Renton Big 5 Sporting Goods store on Grady Way. Myers has worked as a security guard, according to court records, but was not on duty at the time of the shooting.

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"Rather than calling 911 or waiting for any evidence at all that could confirm or deny his assumption, he claimed he had a 'duty to intervene' and did so. The defendant exited his vehicle, pointed his own very real firearm at the three teenagers, and rapidly approached them," prosecutors wrote in charging records.

Prosecutors asked the court to set Myers' bail at $2 million, citing "the likelihood that the defendant will fail to appear in response to a summons and that he may commit a violent offense."

Myers pleaded not guilty and his attorneys unsuccessfully petitioned the court last month to reduce his bail to $100,000.

Court documents reference an incident in March 2022, during which Myers "followed a person carrying a metal object that he believed to be a gun from one store, through another store, and away from the second store, all because he may need to 'intervene' and he 'might have to shoot' the person." In that instance, law enforcement officers intervened before anyone was hurt.

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In a statement provided to KUOW on June 12, Myers' attorneys said he'd acted out of fear for his life.

"We are confident that over the course of this investigation the evidence will show that Mr. Myers’ only intent that day was to protect himself and others from serious harm or death,” the statement reads.

Correction notice, Friday, 8/2/24 at 11:53 a.m.: A previous version of this story stated that Myers' bail had been set by prosecutors. This story has been updated to clarify that Myers' bail was set by the King County Superior Court.