Man Arrested in Mount Vernon After Bomb Threat

Mount Vernon, WA:  In June of this year, a man was arrested for the crime of “Threats to Bomb or injure Property.”

According to the probable cause affidavit, the man, listed as a transient, called 9-1-1 around 3:45 am on the morning of June 19th, 2015. The caller stated that there were four bombs in the electronics department at Wal-Mart and that they would go off between 7 am and 5 pm. The caller stated “that they would not go off until he told them to stop.”  The individual then gave the name of a male that would set the bombs off.

Dispatchers used technology to search the phone number used in the call and identified the caller.  They then used other technology to triangulate the area the call was coming from.  Dispatch determined the call was coming from the area of South 7th Street and East Montgomery street.  Officers located the caller and identified him, he was still on the phone with 9-1-1 when officers arrived.

The man admitted to officers to calling 9-1-1 and telling them about the bomb threat at Wal-Mart.  The man then went on to tell officers that the man who had planted the bombs was his former counselor and that the counselor had tried to “turn him gay.”   He said the counselor had set the bombs because the caller wouldn’t turn gay.  The man was asked when he was told this information, he stated it was at least a few weeks earlier.  The man was unable to tell officers why the counselor would blow up Wal-Mart to get back at him for not turning gay. The man also said he hadn’t actually talked to his counselor for a while and couldn’t remember the last time he had talked to him.

Additional officers  responded to Wal_Mart and contacted the manager. They then searched the electronics department and did not find anything.

The man was taken into custody and booked into the Skagit County Jail for an investigative hold for threats to bomb or injure property. He is currently being held on a $50,000 bond.   He was also booked for several  outstanding warrants for two counts of failure to appear for domestic violence: assault 4 and one count of failure to appear for resisting arrest.

Officers requested a mental health evaluation because they believe the man is suffering from a severe mental illness and is a danger to himself and others.

We chose to remove the subjects name due to his mental status.