Man Arrested In Yakima May Be Tied To Bombings Stolen Van Resembled White-Panel Vans Used In Getaways

Federal law enforcement agents are investigating whether a man arrested Wednesday in Yakima is linked to a series of Spokane Valley bombings and bank robberies.

A stolen van found in the parking lot of a motel where the man was arrested last week resembled the two white, customized panel vans that were used as getaway vehicles in the bombings and robberies, said Michael Byrne, an FBI supervisor in Spokane.

Investigators did not immediately know of other possible links between the man and the Spokane crimes but hoped to interview him, Byrne said.

The man, whose identification was being withheld, was arrested on a local charge unrelated to the stolen van and was booked into the Yakima County Jail, Yakima Police Chief Don Blesio said.

The van was reported stolen from Snohomish County, Byrne said.

Authorities have made no arrests in the Spokane crimes.

On April 1, a pipe bomb exploded outside the Valley office of The Spokesman-Review. Minutes later, a nearby U.S. Bank branch was robbed by men wearing camouflage clothes and ski masks who detonated a pipe bomb inside as they left.

On July 12, a pipe bomb exploded at a Planned Parenthood office and the same bank was robbed.

Authorities believe the bombs were detonated as diversions for the robberies.

In both sets of crimes, the vans believed used as getaway vehicles were found abandoned and booby-trapped in parking lots in the Valley.

The van in the first robbery had been stolen from Ellensburg, and the second van was stolen in Federal Way, authorities said.