Man who was denied reentry to nightclub accused of trying to shoot employees

SEATTLE — A Lynnwood man was charged with three counts of second-degree assault and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in King County Superior Court following a confrontation at a Seattle nightclub.

The incident is alleged to have happened just happened early on Nov. 17 outside of Sarajevo Nightclub in Seattle.

In charging documents, prosecutors said Robel Keleta Goitom, 30, pointed a semi-automatic handgun at three employees at the nightclub.

Prosecutors said Goitom was asked to leave the club and when he was denied reentry he removed the gun from his waistband.

One of the employees then tried to grab Goitom's arm to prevent him from firing, but Goitom was "successful in squeezing the trigger and discharging a round from the handgun," prosecutors wrote in charging documents.

Security officers outside the club were able to hold Goitom on the ground until officers arrived, police wrote in a probable cause document.

Goitom was taken into custody, and police took the gun.

Goitom was booked into the King County Jail, where he remains in lieu of $225,000 bail.

His arraignment, where he will enter a plea, is expected next month.

In their request for bail, prosecutors noted Goitom's extensive criminal history, including prior convictions for unlawful possession of a firearms and being a felon in possession of a firearm, among others.

"This defendant has been told by this Court, the Snohomish County Superior Court, and the United States District Court that he is prohibited from possessing firearms (due) to his numerous felony convictions," prosecutors said.

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