A Federal Way graduate who was initially charged with second-degree murder for his role in the fatal 2021 shooting of a man in Seattle received a sentence of a little under two years after his charges were amended in a plea deal where he agreed to testify against his codefendants.
Sadiq Hussein Aroni, 25, a 2018 Federal Way High School graduate (according to the Mirror’s archives) whose last known address was in Des Moines, was sentenced to 22 months in prison for felony rendering criminal assistance after the charge of second-degree murder was dismissed in a plea deal. Aroni also received a 16-month sentence for second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, but that sentence will run at the same time as the 22-month sentence.
According to court documents, Aroni’s deal is contingent on Aroni’s testimony in the trial of his codefendants Abdikadir Mohamed Haji, Michael Edwards, and in the trial of a fourth unidentified suspect if he is located. Documents state that if Aroni does not provide a truthful or full testimony, the state reserves the right to pursue the murder charge.
Details of the crime
Aroni was charged July 27, 2021, with second-degree murder for the June 22, 2021, drive-by shooting of Tay’zauhn O. Burns-Miller, 20, at a bus stop in Seattle, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office said Burns-Miller died of multiple gunshot wounds. His death was ruled a homicide.
According to charging documents, Aroni had picked up three people in his car and dropped off two people at the Mount Baker Light Rail Station. About a block south, the remaining passenger told him to stop and throw out what was later identified as an ammunition speed loader, Aroni told police in a July 13 interview. Aroni’s vehicle was then seen waiting at the intersection for some time, according to charging documents.
While Aroni and the remaining passenger stayed in the car, the two suspects were seen on video footage hiding behind pillars under the station, watching Burns-Miller. According to documents, the suspects were then seen running toward Burns-Miller, who was standing out of the camera’s frame.
Witnesses said that the two suspects allegedly shot Burns-Miller repeatedly while he was standing at the bus stop and continued to shoot him while he was on the ground. The two suspects were then seen on video footage jumping back into Aroni’s car, which drove south on MLK Way South to a nearby park, according to documents. Burns-Miller was then transported to Harborview Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:43 p.m., documents state.
According to documents, a Seattle Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop of Aroni’s car June 25, 2021, recognizing it from a law enforcement bulletin with photos of the vehicle, and impounded the vehicle. After receiving a search warrant, SPD conducted a search and located a semi-automatic pistol and a jacket matching witness descriptions of one of the shooting suspects. Ammunition found in the pistol appeared to match cartridge casings found at the crime scene.
According to documents, July 13, 2021, Aroni was then arrested, interviewed and released pending further investigation. Documents state he was arrested again in Federal Way on July 22, 2021, and requested his lawyer after an interview attempt.
Reporting from a previous Mirror article was used in this story.
