Man sentenced for bomb threat that shut down I-90 on Mercer Island

A King County man who shut down Interstate 90 on Mercer Island in 2024 because of a bomb threat was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Monday.

Sokphana Soeung, 42, also led police on a low-speed chase down the interstate in October 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Officers responded to a call about two people sleeping in a black Mercedes near Bellevue's Enatai Beach Park around 10:30 a.m., Oct. 12, 2024. They saw drugs in the car and suspected a DUI. Soeung, the driver, fled after being awakened. The car also had been reported stolen.

Officers tried and failed to stop the car with spike strips. Soeung drove under I-90, weaving through neighborhood streets, before merging onto westbound I-90 toward Mercer Island and Seattle.

Eventually, the passenger jumped from the slow-moving car on I-90 and was quickly caught. Police estimated speeds were 3 mph. Soeung eventually fled from the car as well, holding a tennis-ball-sized explosive and a lighter.

Police were able to tackle him before he detonated the explosive. Investigators found several other explosives in the car. No one was injured.

The defendant's decision to possess an explosive device and utilize it in the manner that he did on October 12, 2024, is alarming," federal prosecutors said in a news release. Fleeing from law enforcement on a major interstate brimming with unsuspecting drivers in (a) stolen car while high on fentanyl is concerning enough. Electing to flee on foot with a tennis ball 'bomb' and lighter in hand placed everyone present at risk of injury or worse, including the defendant."

He was convicted of unlawful possession of a destructive device.

The Bellevue Police Department, the Washington State Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

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