Olympia man who burned Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls has been sentenced to prison

The Olympia man who damaged and destroyed several area Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls was sentenced Friday to 11 years in prison for the 2018 crime spree, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman announced.

Mikey Diamond Starrett, aka Michael Jason Layes, 52, pleaded guilty in May 2024 to four counts of damage to religious property and one count of using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

In his plea agreement, Starrett admitted the attacks were motivated by the religious character of the facilities.

“There are significant and troubling facts…. Terrorizing a group of individuals because of their religious beliefs,” Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo said at Friday’s sentencing.

“These were not crimes against buildings, but a series of attacks against a community and a faith,” Gorman said.

Starrett attacked four Kingdom Halls, setting fire to three, according to case records.

On March 19, 2018, he set fire to Jehovah’s Witness buildings in Tumwater and Olympia. Later that July, Starrett again set fire to the Olympia building, completely destroying it.

In a May 2018 attack, Starrett used an assault-style rifle to shoot into a Yelm Kingdom Hall in Yelm.

Starrett’s attacks caused more than $700,000 in damage.

He was arrested in September 2021.

When he was indicted, prosecutors said that several friends and family members told law enforcement that Starrett believed he was haunted by the spirits of an ex-girlfriend’s deceased Jehovah’s Witness relatives, and that he hated the religion. The friends and family members also reported that he used drugs and alcohol heavily and had serious mental health issues.

In a letter to the court, Starrett denied using drugs or being haunted by spirits: “I smoke American Spirits brand cigarettes. There must be some confusion?”

At Friday’s sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, a Jehovah’s Witness spokesperson read statements submitted by community members.

“I wondered if the arsonist would strike again with people inside; any new face at the meeting made me worry: and …the gunshots and bomb left, were clear threats, we worried someone would come to a meeting with a gun,” the statements read in part.