A shoplifting call at a business in the 600 block of 156th Avenue Northeast in Bellevue spiraled into a bomb squad response Sunday evening after officers say they found a gun, a stolen vehicle and an improvised explosive device all tied to the same suspect. Bellevue police responded to the theft report around 6 p.m. and identified 30-year-old Johny Mixayboua as the man suspected of shoplifting, according to police.
Suspect Reached Into Jacket Before Gun Was Found
During the stop, police say Mixayboua reached toward something in his jacket and gave officers false information about his identity, according to KOMO. Officers found a gun on him, which they seized, along with a key fob. That key fob led investigators to discover that the vehicle Mixayboua had been driving was reported stolen.
Inside the stolen car, officers found what they described as an apparent improvised explosive device, prompting Bellevue police to call in their bomb squad. Bomb squad technicians confirmed the device was legitimate before removing and dismantling it safely, per the same account. Mixayboua was arrested on investigation of first-degree assault, possession of a stolen firearm, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, first-degree driving with a suspended license, obstruction of law enforcement, and making false or misleading statements, and he was booked into King County Jail.
A Separate I-90 Bomb Scare
Bellevue's discovery echoes another recent Washington case involving an improvised device in a vehicle: two men were arrested after allegedly leading Bellevue police on a low-speed chase onto I-90, with the driver allegedly trying to light an explosive device while fleeing officers, according to FOX 13 Seattle. That report said the driver held the device in one hand and a lighter in the other while running, and the Bellevue Bomb Squad later confirmed the item was a genuine improvised explosive. An ATF special agent said that device held about 50 grams of explosive material packed inside a tennis ball with a fuse inserted into it, and the black Mercedes involved had been reported stolen to the King County Sheriff's Office. Around 50 fentanyl pills were also found in the passenger's possession, FOX 13 reported.
Mixayboua's Record Includes a Major Federal Mail-Theft Case
Mixayboua is not a stranger to Washington law enforcement. He has more than a dozen felony convictions, with juvenile convictions dating back to age 14, according to KOMO. He was previously arrested by the U.S. Postal Service in May 2023, when he was 27, after being accused of stealing USPS vehicles and mail across the Seattle area.
That earlier case resulted in a federal guilty plea. Mixayboua pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to theft of government property, mail theft, illegally possessing a firearm and carrying out illegal transactions by accessing devices issued to other people, according to The Seattle Times. He was accused of stealing five mail trucks and an unknown number of postal keys, with theft activity stretching throughout Seattle and as far north as Lake Forest Park, south as Tukwila and east as Snoqualmie. He was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, KOMO reported.
Thefts Once Halted Mail Delivery for a Week
The scale of the mail-theft scheme was significant enough to disrupt postal service for an entire Seattle ZIP code. The pattern began in December 2022 when a mail truck and a postal key used to access cluster mailboxes in Southeast Seattle's 98178 ZIP code were stolen, the Times reported. By spring 2023, the thefts had gotten so bad that the Postal Service halted deliveries in the 98118 ZIP code for about a week while investigators tracked Mixayboua down. He was also accused of buying, or attempting to buy, at least $7,000 worth of items using stolen credit or prepaid cards, per the same report. Mixayboua had previously been convicted of multiple stolen-vehicle-related charges in King County Superior Court and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm, the Times noted.
What Washington Law Says About Explosive Devices
Under state law, a person may not possess or control a shell, bomb or similar device charged or filled with explosives while intending to use it, or cause it to be used, for an unlawful purpose, according to Washington State Legislature statute RCW 70.74.180.
