Judge sentences 2 additional Walmart arson conspirators to prison

Published: Jun. 1, 2023 at 9:07 AM CDT

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A federal judge has sentenced two more defendants involved in a series of 2021 arson attacks at Walmart stores in Alabama and Mississippi.

So far, U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer has sentenced to prison three of eight defendants. The court previously sentenced Jeffery Sikes, a.k.a. “Kenneth Allen,” 42, to serve 18 years in prison.

Now the judge has ordered Alexander Olson, 23, to serve 15 years in prison and Quinton Olson, 22, to serve three years in prison.

According to court documents and testimony during the sentencing evidentiary hearing, these defendants initially resided in Kearney, Neb., and lived in Lillian, Ala., 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, according to prosecutors. They said 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, and the defendants circulated this document to multiple media outlets to draw attention to the arson attacks, prosecutors said. 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, prosecutors said.

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.

Co-defendants Erica Sikes, Jenna Sikes and Mikayla Scheele are scheduled be sentenced on Friday. Michael Bottorff and Sean Bottorff are scheduled to be sentenced on June 12 and Aug. 24, respectively.