BELLEVUE, Wash. — U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman announced Wednesday that a King County man appeared in court Tuesday and was charged by criminal complaint for possession of an explosive device that shut down Interstate 90 at Mercer in early October.
According to a press release from the Western District of Washington U.S. Attorney’s Office, Sokphana Soeung, 42, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with unlawful possession of a destructive device after explosive devices were found inside a car Soeung and his accomplice drove on I-90 in Bellevue on Oct. 12. Unlawful possession of a destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Bellevue police said they received a 911 call the morning of Oct. 12 about a suspicious car at Enatai Beach Park. When officers went to the park, they found two men passed out in the car near drug paraphernalia, according to the criminal complaint. Police laid down spike strips to prevent the men from driving off.
Police alerted the men inside the car and then the men took off. The car’s tires blew out shortly after, prompting a slow-moving chase. Police conducted a PIT maneuver on I-90 West on Mercer Island. After stopping, police said the men jumped out of the car and tried to run away.
Capt. Shelby Shearer with Bellevue PD said the driver appeared to have a lighter in one hand and a tennis-ball-sized explosive device in the other hand. He tried to light the device on fire. Then the driver appeared to try and throw the device at officers.
Shearer said the officers made a split-second decision and tackled the driver. During the struggle, one of the devices rolled under the freeway, causing a 45-minute road closure.
Both devices had explosive accelerants inside and were very dangerous, Shearer said. Police said a third device was a firework.
The bomb squad determined there was no danger to the public or the I-90 bridge after a lengthy investigation.
The second person in the car jumped out ahead of Soeung and was detained and questioned. He claimed to not know about the explosives.
Soeung remains in custody at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.
©2024 Cox Media Group
