Man accused of 4 crimes faces new charges, including near-shooting of 3-year-old child

SEATTLE — A four-time convicted felon is facing multiple additional felony charges stemming from a series of recent shootings in Seattle, including a case in which a bullet to a 3-year-old boy missed being hit by less than an inch.

Khalif Myles, 27, is currently Locked up in King County Jail on $500,000 bail. He faces two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

As part of the charges against him, prosecutors said Myles “senselessly fired at” two occupied vehicles within a month. Prosecutors also believe he is linked to at least eight other shootings since Oct. 6.

Charging documents highlight a specific shooting incident on Nov. 7, when prosecutors say Myles fired 12 shots at another vehicle while driving in a stolen car near Northeast 95th Street and 35th Avenue Northeast in Wedgwood.

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As the driver of the other car tried to quickly move away from the gunfire, investigators said one of the bullets hit the headrest of the booster seat where a 3-year-old child was sitting.

The child had red abrasions on the right side of his face, according to indictments. Officers also noted that the bullet damage to the booster seat was right next to where the child’s head would have been at the time of the shot.

Prosecutors said scratches on the boy’s cheek and face proved that he was sitting in the seat when the bullet hit the headrest. Luckily no one was seriously injured.

After the incident, ballistic experts examined the evidence left at the scene. Investigators quickly concluded that the gun used in the Nov. 7 incident was the same gun used in the shooting about a month earlier, according to court documents.

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In that incident, on Oct. 13, a man told police he was at 5401 25th Ave. in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. He said he parked at the Papa John’s restaurant on NE when he saw a vehicle pull up behind him and a man in a dark hoodie emerge from the driver’s cab. side.

The man said he then saw Myles holding a gun as he walked toward the car, causing the victim to put his car in reverse and quickly run away from the suspect.

According to witnesses, Myles fired eight shots, hitting the victim’s car with three bullets.

As in the shooting that occurred a month later, the victim was not harmed.

“It’s really fortunate that no one was harmed,” said Douglas Wagoner of the King County Prosecutor’s Office (KCPAO). “You could say this is potentially miraculous.”

Using eyewitness accounts, police tracked cars linked to the shootings on both October 13 and November 7. In both cases, officers determined Myles was driving stolen vehicles.

Investigators said they then searched nearby security video for those cars, including at gas stations. They said surveillance technology consistently showed Myles using these tools.

Myles was seen so frequently that authorities were able to identify him from an old mugshot, according to court documents.

Days later, authorities raided Myles’ home and said: Two stolen guns found in cross body bag.

Analysis showed that one of the handguns in the bag was used in shootings on both Oct. 13 and Nov. 7, and in 10 more shootings since Oct. 6, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors added that Myles’ criminal history includes convictions for first-degree robbery in 2019, second-degree robbery in 2019, third-degree assault in 2017, second-degree assault in 2015, and third-degree burglary in 2022 and 2017.

Myles in the 2019 first-degree robbery case, according to charging documents. He knocked an 81-year-old woman to the ground. Documents say Myles knocked over the elderly woman in a grocery store parking lot, breaking her shoulder and knocking out two of her teeth before stealing her purse.

Myles was eventually sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by 18 months of community supervision. Myles was released from prison in October 2021 and his Department of Corrections supervision ended in February 2023, prosecutors said.