Three Defendants Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Series of Commercial Arsons

MOBILE, AL – United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer has sentenced to prison three of eight defendants involved in a series of 2021 arson attacks at Walmart stores in Alabama and Mississippi.

The court sentenced Jeffery Sikes, a.k.a. “Kenneth Allen,” age 42, to serve 216 months in prison.  Judge Moorer ordered Alexander Olson, age 23, to serve 180 months in prison.  Finally, the court sentenced Quinton Olson, age 22, to serve 36 months in prison.

According to court documents and testimony during the sentencing evidentiary hearing, these defendants initially resided in Kearney, Nebraska, and lived in Lillian, Alabama, at the time of the conspiracy.  Jeffery Sikes had entered a guilty plea to wire fraud in the District of Nebraska and absconded to Alabama with several co-defendants before he was sentenced in that case.  While in Alabama, Sikes led a conspiracy with seven co-defendants to set fire to Walmart stores.  The conspirators held a series of planning meetings in which they also drafted a document entitled the Declaration of War and Demands for the People that made various demands and threats against Walmart locations.  Alexander Olson and Quinton Olson participated in these planning meetings.  The defendants circulated this document to multiple media outlets to draw attention to the arson attacks.  Multiple conspirators set malicious fires at four Walmart locations.  Jeffery Sikes and Alexander Olson set fires at one Walmart location, and Alexander Olson was present during the malicious fires at all four locations.  At the evidentiary hearing, the Court heard from multiple witnesses who suffered the impacts from these fires. 
The defendants were arrested in February 2022 after a months-long investigation.  They pleaded guilty to participation in a conspiracy to set these malicious fires.
 
“These three defendants deliberately endangered innocent shoppers and destroyed millions of dollars of merchandise when they intentionally and maliciously set fires in four stores in two states,” said United States Attorney Sean P. Costello. “Setting fire to a business isn’t an economic or political argument, it’s a serious violent crime that has serious consequences.  These criminals were brought to justice thanks to the exceptional work of the men and women of the FBI, who demonstrated persistence, creativity, and professionalism throughout this complex investigation.”
 
FBI–Mobile Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown said, “Jeffery Sikes, the admitted mastermind of a series of Walmart store fires was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, which was double the recommended prison term under the federal guidelines.   This sentence was based on the totality and severity of the defendant’s actions.  Sikes will also be required to pay approximately $7.3 million dollars in restitution to Walmart.  This case demonstrates domestic terrorism continues to persist in a variety of forms.  The investigative rigor and professionalism of the Mobile JTTF and its partners brought this investigation to a successful conclusion.”

Co-defendants Erica Sikes, Jenna Sikes, and Mikayla Scheele are scheduled be sentenced by Judge Moorer on June 2, 2023.  Michael Bottorff and Sean Bottorff are scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2023, and August 24, 2023, respectively.

This case was primarily investigated by FBI–Mobile.  In addition, Mobile Fire Investigators, ATF–Mobile, FBI–Jackson, FBI–Omaha, and various FBI Headquarters components contributed to this investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Bodnar, Scott Gray, and Kasee Heisterhagen prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.  Substantial assistance was also provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska as well as the Department of Justice–Counterterrorism Section.