Aaron Brown Myers is scheduled to be sentenced July 21 in King County.
RENTON, Wash. — A King County jury has convicted an off-duty security guard of second-degree murder and assault in the 2024 shooting death of a 17-year-old boy outside a Renton sporting goods store.
Aaron Brown Myers, 52, was found guilty Friday in the death of Hazrat Ali Rohani, who was shot outside a Big 5 Sporting Goods store on June 5, 2024. Prosecutors said Rohani and two other teens were going to the store for help with BB guns when Myers wrongly assumed they were armed criminals. The verdict moved the case toward sentencing after more than a week of trial testimony about fear, force and the limits of a private citizen’s authority.
Rohani, who went by Ali, was with two other teenagers near the store on Grady Way when Myers confronted them in the parking lot. Myers was not working at the time and had been waiting in his vehicle while his son attended a nearby martial arts class. Prosecutors said the teens were carrying BB guns and had gone to the store seeking help with them. Myers told police he believed one teen had what looked like a Glock handgun and that another appeared to reach toward his waistband. King County Prosecutor Elaine Lee told jurors Myers “made decisions based purely on assumptions” and gave himself authority he did not have. The defense said Myers believed he needed to act quickly to prevent violence.
Trial testimony and charging records focused on a brief encounter that turned deadly in seconds. Prosecutors said one teen placed a BB gun on the ground and that the boys tried to comply while telling Myers the guns were not real. Myers held them at gunpoint, and the confrontation escalated. Investigators said Rohani was shot seven times, including six times in the back. Lee told jurors that Rohani had turned to walk away when Myers fired repeatedly. Defense attorney Mark Middaugh argued Myers acted on what he saw in the moment and believed the teens posed an immediate threat. “He didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Middaugh told jurors during closing arguments.
The case drew attention across the Seattle area because Rohani was killed while carrying a replica or BB gun near a sporting goods store, not while committing a robbery. Police and prosecutors said the teens had not hurt anyone before Myers approached them. Court records said Rohani showed his hands during the encounter and was backing away when he was shot. The defense pointed to the realistic appearance of the BB gun and to Myers’ stated belief that he was protecting others. Jurors also saw police body camera footage in which Myers told officers that he thought one of the teens was reaching for a handgun.
Myers was initially charged in 2024 with second-degree murder and second-degree assault. Prosecutors said he also held another teen at gunpoint during the incident. A judge previously set bail at $2 million as the case moved through court. During trial, prosecutors described Myers as an armed civilian who escalated the confrontation instead of calling 911 or moving away from the teenagers. The defense said he was trying to stop what he believed was a violent crime before anyone inside the store or nearby businesses could be hurt. The jury deliberated for about a day and a half before returning the guilty verdict.
The shooting left a small memorial outside the store in the days after Rohani’s death and renewed questions about how quickly encounters involving replica guns can turn fatal. Rohani’s death also became part of a broader public discussion about private security work, armed civilians and mistaken threats in public places. Prosecutors said Myers was an off-duty security guard, but he was not acting as a police officer and was not working for the store when he confronted the teens. The exact place where Myers worked as a security guard was not central to the verdict, and officials have not said that the store asked him to intervene.
Myers now faces a prison term that could total roughly two decades or more, including time tied to a firearm enhancement. Local reports said prosecutors described a range that could reach about 28 years when the enhancement is included. Sentencing is set for July 21 in King County Superior Court. The court will hear from attorneys and may hear victim impact statements before a judge imposes the sentence. Any appeal would come after sentencing, and no appeal had been decided as of Sunday.
For Rohani’s family and friends, the verdict came nearly two years after the shooting outside the Renton store. For Myers, it marked the end of the trial phase but not the end of the criminal case. He remains convicted of second-degree murder and assault while the court prepares for the July 21 sentencing hearing.
Author note: Last updated May 10, 2026.