Case dismissed against man who made bomb threat

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 21, 2018

EVERETT — A felony case has been dismissed against a Brier man who created a Nov. 7 traffic jam on Highway 9 by crashing head-on into a truck and claiming there was a bomb in his car.

The man, 27, lives with mental illness. Since his arrest in November, he’s connected with a treatment program and the results are promising.

The man was charged with threats to bomb or injure, a felony. On Feb. 5, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Joseph Wilson signed an order, dismissing the charge without prejudice.

That means the charge could be revived should the situation change or the man fail to continue treatment, deputy prosecutor Julie Mohr said.

Witnesses said the man rammed into a truck that had been waiting at a light at 164th Street SE along the highway near Clearview. He reportedly jumped out and told bystanders there was a bomb in his vehicle and that it would explode if he stopped driving at least 50 mph.

The bomb claim led to the highway being closed at the height of the evening commute. A bomb squad was called. No explosives were found.

At one point in the case, the man’s attorney filed a motion urging the case to be dismissed on the grounds that no credible bomb threat existed, and that the defendant appeared to have appropriated part of the plot from the 1994 movie “Speed.”

The man told authorities that he had stopped taking his medications in the days before the incident. His case was slowed while efforts were made to restore his mental health sufficiently so he could assist in his defense, court papers show.

Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@herald net.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.