SEATTLE — A 42-year-old King County man that was allegedly in possession of an explosive when he was arrested on Interstate 90 in October faces federal charges.
Sokphana Soeung was charged Tuesday, Nov. 26 with unlawful possession of a destructive device. If found guilty, he faces up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Shortly before 10:40 a.m. on Oct. 12, officers responded to reports of a driver and passenger sleeping in an idling black sedan at Enatai Beach Park. The vehicle was reported stolen.
It took several commands over a PA system for both the men inside the vehicle to wake up, according to probable cause documents. When they did, the driver drove away. All four tires were immediately deflated by a tire deflation device set by police.
Due to all of the tires being deflated, the vehicle never exceeded speeds of 10 miles per hour.
The vehicle eventually made it onto westbound I-90.
About a quarter-mile from Exit 8 on I-90, the vehicle nearly came to a complete stop and the passenger jumped out, fell to the ground and was arrested. The 48-year-old man had a felony warrant for taking a vehicle without permission and a misdemeanor warrant for possessing drug paraphernalia. He had about 50 fentanyl pills on him, according to probable cause documents.
Shortly after the passenger was arrested, Washington state troopers performed a PIT maneuver on the suspect vehicle. The driver, Soeung, got out and a short foot pursuit began.
Video shows Soeung turn toward the officers with what looked like an improvised explosive device in one hand and a lighter in the other. He attempted to light it, according to probable cause documents. There were seven law enforcement officers in close proximity.
Officers took Soeung into custody. He has been in state custody since his arrest. At the time of his arrest, Soeung had a bench warrant stemming from a case in 2020 involving a stolen vehicle.
An ATF special agent reported that Soeung had a tennis ball with about 50 grams of explosive powder inside and a fuse inserted into it. It was later confirmed that the powder was energetic and the fuse was functional.
