Navy Yard Shooter Aaron Alexis Allegedly Tampered With Friend’s Car

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Aaron Alexis was accused of tampering with his roommate’s car on July 5 while he was living in Fort Worth, Texas, according to a police report obtained by TPM via a public information request filed with the Fort Worth Police Department.

According to the report Alexis’ roommate, Nutpisit Suthamtewakul, called police after “experiencing engine problems with his 2013 Honda Accord.” After he pulled the car over, the report said Suthamtewakul saw scratches indicating “someone had used an unknown object to pry open” the door on the fuel tank. The report said Suthamtewakul also described seeing “light traces of some sort of granules inside the fuel door, around the fuel filler tube.”

Based on this evidence, the report said Suthamtewakul suspected Alexis “put some substance in the fuel tank of the … vehicle to intentionally cause damage.” The report said Suthamtewakul told a police officer that he and his wife had “been having problems” with Alexis that had “escalated to the point that they have made it clear that [Alexis] will need to find somewhere else to live.” It was not immediately clear whether charges were ever filed against Alexis for the alleged tampering. 

Since the Navy Yard shooting Monday, Suthamtewakul has spoken to the press extensively about his relationship with Alexis. In one interview, he described Alexis as his “best friend.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Suthamtewakul said Alexis moved out of his house in May, two months before the police report about the car was filed. Suthamtewakul also told the Journal there was “some friction between his wife and Mr. Alexis over the family’s cats, which Mr. Alexis disliked.” TPM left messages for Suthamtewakul on the cell phone number listed in the police report and at the restaurant he owns in Fort Worth but he has not yet responded. 

Alexis was arrested by the Forth Worth Police Department in 2010 for allegedly shooting a bullet through a neighbor’s apartment. Charges were not filed in that case. Alexis was also arrested in Seattle in 2004 after an incident where he allegedly shot a car owned by a construction worker he felt had “mocked” him. 

View the full police report detailing the incident with Suthamtewakul’s car below. TPM has redacted some address and phone number information. Other information was redacted by the Fort Worth Police Department. 

Ft Worth Police Report Aaron Alexis

This post has been updated.

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