More Suspicious Packages Found In Pullman Police Question Two People But Make No Arrests

For the second time in a week, postal workers found suspicious packages in a mail drop box, prompting police to briefly close nearby streets as a precaution Tuesday.

Investigators were questioning two Pullman residents believed to have sent the packages, but no arrests had been made.

The U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office was investigating the latest incident, in which two packages addressed to the Central Intelligence Agency were found by a postal employee making a pickup at a drop box at an Excell Foods store, Police Chief Ted Weatherly said.

The packages contained T-shirts, a box of candy and “a disarray of assorted items that make absolutely no sense,” Weatherly said.

The packages apparently were the same type as those found last Saturday in Pullman and Spokane, which were also addressed to the CIA and contained similar items, he said. Authorities said they were harmless and may have been sent as a prank.

None contained any explosive devices.

The two people being questioned were a man in his 20s and a woman in her 60s. Authorities must examine existing statues to determine if any crimes were committed, Weatherly said.

“If we can show their intent is to harass or in some way disrupt the mail service or disrupt public officials, they’re going to go to jail,” Weatherly said.

After the packages found Tuesday were discovered, police closed one lane of Stadium Way, a major arterial through the Washington State University campus.

The Spokane County sheriff’s bomb squad was called to check the contents of the packages.

The store was cleared of employees and customers while postal inspectors and police investigated.

“It appears to be a similar situation to what happened over the weekend,” Postal Inspector Jim Bordenet said from Seattle. “We’re in the process of resolving the matter, but it does appear it is a similar scenario.”

After three packages were discovered in a mail box last Saturday, Pullman police shut down the area around Grand Avenue and Stadium Way, about a block from where the packages were found Tuesday.

Later Saturday, four packages were found in the Pullman Post Office.