The FBI has recovered eight more suspicious packages that are believed to be sent by a Mill Creek man to military installations and other government facilities in Washington, D.C., bringing the tentative total of packages to 18.
Thanh Cong Phan, 43, was arrested in March and made his first court appearance in federal court last week. FBI agents were outside Phan's double-wide mobile home.
The FBI determined the packages contained potential destructive devices and appeared to be sent from the same man. Phan sent the packages from the United States Postal Service facility in Mill Creek, located in the 15800 block of Mill Creek Boulevard.
Initially 10 packages were recovered; 8 more packages that appear similar to the packages mailed by Phan were later recovered safely.
According to a public records search of the man’s name, he has been custody in a Snohomish, WA county jail since 11:55 p.m. Monday.
Phan appeared in Federal Court before Judge James Donohue, accused of shipping explosive materials. He is being held in custody without bail.
Multiple packages were sent to mail processing facilities at:
- Fort Belvoir (Virginia)
- Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (Washington D.C.)
- Fort Lesley J. McNair (Washington D.C.)
- Naval Surface Warfare Center (Dahlgren, Va.)
- Central Intelligence Agency (Langley, Va.)
- National Security Agency (Fort Meade, Maryland)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (Washington D.C.)
- Mark Center Building (Alexandria, Virginia)
- National Reconnaissance Office (Chantilly, Virginia)
- Government Mail Facility (Washington D.C.)
Each package found Monday was collected for further analysis by the FBI and they were rendered inert.
Phan was charged with illegal possession of a firearm in 2011. According to court documents, "the defendant made some bizarre statements to them which gave the deputies concern about his mental health and safety."
When deputies decided to take him into protective custody for an involuntary mental health commitment, they asked if he had any firearms. "He stated he had a handgun in his backpack that he had with him. Inside was a loaded .357 handgun."
According to the documents, Phan had been convicted of second-degree assault in 1990 when he was a juvenile, making it illegal for him to possess a firearm. The charge was later dismissed.
This report comes several days after packages detonated in Austin, Texas.
Four bombings in Austin since March 2 killed two people and wounded four. A fifth person suffered minor injuries when a package bomb exploded at a FedEx facility. That package was mailed from Austin, linking it to the serial bomber.
