Federal authorities have raised the reward for information leading to the arrest of a man accused of gunning down one person and wounding another inside a Lakewood apartment nearly a quarter-century ago, boosting the bounty on Liban Abdulkadir Sheikh to up to $50,000. Sheikh has been on the run since 2002, and investigators say he has ties to or may have traveled to locations including Minneapolis and Somalia.
The increase marks the second bump in the reward's history. According to KOMO News, the original reward of $2,500 was raised to $20,000 in 2022 before this latest increase. Sheikh faces state charges of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and first-degree burglary, as well as a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, as reported by The News Tribune.
A Pierce County Superior Court arrest warrant was issued for Sheikh on Nov. 27, 2002, the same day prosecutors say he forced his way into a second-story apartment in the 7500 block of 146th Street Southwest in Lakewood at 3 a.m., per The News Tribune. A federal warrant followed on Dec. 9, 2002, after he was charged with unlawful flight, the same outlet's report notes.
A Revenge Shooting, Investigators Say
Court records cited by The News Tribune lay out a motive rooted in a domestic dispute two days before the shooting. On Nov. 25, 2002, Hattie York and her boyfriend — a friend of Sheikh's — got into a physical fight at York's apartment, and Ricky Sinclair intervened to break it up, according to those records. York's boyfriend had recently been charged with fourth-degree domestic violence against her, the documents state, and afterward Sheikh allegedly decided to harm Sinclair in retaliation.
Before the shooting, Sheikh's friend reportedly warned a resident, “Tell Ricky Sinclair to get out of here, Liban is going to hurt him.” When Sheikh arrived at the apartment, he allegedly asked Sinclair if he was “the man who beat up my brother” before opening fire, per the same court records. The FBI's own account, cited by WLOS, says Sheikh shot the 34-year-old Sinclair six times in the back of the head and shot York twice in the back and leg before fleeing the state.
Sinclair died from his wounds at the hospital, while York survived, court documents show, according to The News Tribune. Sheikh was 32 years old at the time of the murder per that reporting, though a 2002 Seattle Times item identified a Liban Abdulkadir Sheikh sought by police that year as 23 — a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve. The News Tribune calculates that Sheikh would now be 56.
A Fugitive With Possible Ties on Three Continents
The FBI says Sheikh fled after the shooting and was later seen in Minneapolis, per The News Tribune's account of the federal release. More broadly, investigators believe he has ties to or may have traveled to Seattle, Minneapolis, Columbus, Ohio, Surrey and Vancouver in British Columbia, Amsterdam, Oslo, London and Somalia, according to KOMO's report on the FBI release. Agents warn that Sheikh should be considered armed and dangerous, the station notes.
A Crimestoppers flyer describes Sheikh as a Somalian man standing about 5-foot-11 and weighing roughly 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, The News Tribune reports. He is also known to use the aliases Nor Abdulkadir Sheikh, Nor Mohammed, “Blue” and “Ali Jama,” per that outlet's reporting.
Pierce County Has Seen This Before
Decades-old cold cases in the region have occasionally ended in arrest, even after suspects crossed international borders. KOMO News reports that Miguel Urbano-Vazquez, wanted since 2002 in a different Pierce County murder and a series of rapes, went on trial in Tacoma this month after the FBI arrested him in Mexico in 2023 and extradited him to Washington in May 2025. That case shows how long an investigation can stay open before a break finally comes.
Anyone with information on Sheikh's whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov, according to The News Tribune.
