Seattle man charged with hate crime in Ballard QFC attack
Man faces hate crime charges after Ballard QFC attack
A 27-year-old Seattle man is in custody after allegedly focusing on a grocery retailer employee with racial slurs and utilizing his automotive as a weapon. Jack Vafi reportedly threatened to return with a gun after a confrontation at a Ballard QFC.
SEATTLE – A Seattle man stays behind bars after prosecutors say he tried to run over a Black grocery retailer worker earlier than returning the subsequent day to subject dying threats.
Ballard grocery employee focused in parking storage
What we all know:
According to courtroom paperwork, 27-year-old Jack Vafi started shouting racial slurs at an worker working the self-checkout line at a QFC in Ballard. The confrontation escalated in the shop’s parking storage when the worker tried taking a photograph of Vafi and advised him he was trespassing.
Prosecutors say Vafi then obtained into his automotive, lined the car up with the employee, and drove straight at him. The worker advised Seattle police he needed to bounce out of the way in which to keep away from being struck.
The following morning, Vafi allegedly returned to the shop, telling the employee, “I don’t like you because you’re Black,” threatening to return with a gun to shoot him.
Jack Vafi and his automotive captured on surveillance digicam, pictured in courtroom paperwork.
What they’re saying:
During a latest courtroom listening to, Vafi’s protection legal professional argued for leniency, saying he has no felony historical past. However, the choose denied the request, citing severe considerations for public security.
“This is clearly not an isolated incident,” the choose mentioned. “I have real concerns that he is going to carry out his threats against African Americans.”
The backstory:
Just one month previous to the QFC incident, King County Sheriff’s deputies say Vafi pulled a knife on a Black man at a Costco. Investigators additionally famous related incidents in San Diego—the place he allegedly hit a flagger with his automotive—and in Tempe, Arizona.
Jack Vafi seems in King County courtroom. (FOX 13 Seattle)
What’s subsequent:
Vafi has pleaded not responsible to 2 counts of a hate crime. He stays in custody on $50,000 bail.
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Source: Information in this story got here from the courtroom paperwork filed in King County Superior Court and FOX 13 Seattle reporting