A 32-year-old Seattle man faces a first-degree assault charge after he reportedly attacked an employee at a Kent auto repair shop during a dispute about payment for repairs.
Abdi Osman Abdi allegedly punched and kicked the employee after showing up May 8 at V.M. Auto Repair, 20435 84th Ave. S. As of June 12, Abdi remained in custody at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent with bail set at $250,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned June 13.
“In this unprovoked, violent attack, the defendant pushed the victim into a metal pole knocking the victim to the ground,” wrote Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Stephen A. Herschkowitz in charging documents filed May 31. “The defendant then dragged the victim out of a workshop and then proceeded to punch him then stomp on his head numerous times causing significant injuries.”
Herschkowitz wrote that the employee is still being medically supervised with a questionable prognosis on whether he will have brain functioning in the future.
Kent Police officers responded at about 2:59 p.m. May 8 to a physical assault in progress at the auto repair shop. A witness guided officers to the employee laying on the ground unconscious, according to charging papers. Paramedics transported the man to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Detectives learned that a man (later identified as Abdi) arrived with a female and entered the business through the garage, according to court documents. Abdi yelled at the employee and pushed him backwards into a metal pole before he fell to the ground.
Abdi then repeatedly punched the man in the face before dragging him outside of the garage and kicking him in the head about five times, according to charging documents. Abdi then entered a vehicle with a female and they drove away before police arrived.
Detectives learned that there was a dispute between the employee and Abdi regarding money, either Abdi had paid for half of his vehicle repairs or hadn’t paid at all. A green car stored behind the garage reportedly belonged to Abdi, which detectives confirmed through a Department of Licensing records check.
Police used video surveillance from surrounding businesses to connect a black Toyota RAV4 to the incident. Detectives tracked down the vehicle to a Kent woman, whose Department of Licensing photo reportedly matched the description of the woman in the video of the attack.
Detectives watched the woman’s residence and saw her drive away in a Toyota RAV4. They followed the woman to a Kent apartment complex and saw her enter an apartment.
Police eventually determined through cellphone records that Abdi reportedly ran an online clothing business out of the apartment. Records also indicated that Abdi traveled from Seattle to the area of the crime near the repair shop and then to the Kent apartment in the 25800 block of 113th Ave. SE.
Police arrested Abdi on May 29 in Kent. Abdi reportedly told detectives he assaulted the auto repair shop employee when he first arrived and then lost his temper after the employee allegedly spit in his face. He said he knocked the employee out with a punch and kicked him in the head several times.
Prior to the attack, Abdi had allegedly sent threatening text messages to the employee, according to charging papers.
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