Man accused of hate crime, targeting Black employee in Ballard QFC
A Seattle man is accused of committing a hate crime against a Black QFC employee in Ballard, referring to the worker with an anti-Black slur and driving his car toward the employee, according to King County prosecutors.
Jack Vafi, 27, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two counts of hate crime in connection with the December incident. According to charging documents, he repeatedly used the racist slur against the 27-year-old employee and came back the next day to allegedly threaten the employee.
Vafi was charged in March and arrested April 28 after a King County Superior Court judge issued a bench warrant. He is being held in King County Jail in lieu of $5,050 bail.
According to a Seattle police probable cause document, police responded to a call from the victim at the QFC about an attempted assault on the morning of Dec. 11. The victim said he was working the self-checkout and greeted a customer who then referred to him with the slur, the charging documents state. Caught off guard, the employee said, Excuse me?" and the man repeated the slur, court documents say.
The victim told Vafi he had to leave, documents say, and Vafi walked toward the parking garage. The employee said he followed Vafi at a distance to photograph him for trespassing, and Vafi yelled at him not to photograph his car, the documents state. While the victim was recording, Vafi allegedly drove his vehicle at the victim, who had to jump out of the way, according to charges.
The victim's cellphone video captured the car fleeing after the alleged assault attempt. The license plate was registered to Vafi's father, according to charging documents.
The following day, the victim called 911 again, reporting that the suspect had returned: "It's the same dude, man, he threatened to kill me," he told responding officers. The man allegedly told him: "I don't like you because you're Black."
When the victim told the suspect he was trespassing and had to leave, Vafi allegedly said: "I will be back. … When I do come back, I will bring my gun, and I'm going to shoot you." The victim told officers he felt "100% scared for my life.
Running the license plate number captured on video returned two out-of-state police reports that stated Vafi was the driver of the vehicle. In March, Mercer Island police conducted a traffic stop during which Vafi was identified as the driver.
Police compared Vafi's driver's license photo with surveillance footage from inside the QFC and concluded the suspect was Vafi, charging documents state.
A trial is scheduled in June. Vafi has been ordered by the court not to contact the victim.
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