King County deputies make arrests; seize nearly 30 pounds of drugs, 18 firearms, flame thrower

Deputies with the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) made two arrests leading to the seizure of more than 25 pounds of drugs, more than a dozen firearms, firearm accessories, information on making illegal weapons and materials used to make homemade explosives.

A news release from KCSO on Monday stated the arrests happened in May, starting with reports of a shooting in North Bend. Deputies arrived at the scene and tried to engage with eyewitnesses, however, they were refused access to the home. The responding deputy obtained a search warrant to get possible video footage of the shooting. The warrant led to the discovery of illegal drugs and guns, according to KCSO.

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Due to the amount of drug contamination, KCSO said the Gun Violence Reduction Unit and the Bomb Disposal Unit were called in. Officers then discovered more chemicals and compounds for homemade explosives.

King County deputies seized chemicals and compounds used to make homemade explosives. (Photo courtesy of KCSO)

Including the chemicals, the search led to the recovery of 7.4 ounces of methamphetamine, 5 pounds and 5 ounces of amphetamine, 4 pounds and 1.8 ounces of Xanax and 16 pounds and 4.1 ounces of fentanyl.

King County deputies seized more than 25 pounds of drugs. (Photo courtesy of KCSO)

Police also found 5 complete rifles, some were fully automatic, which is illegal and some had no serial number, which is also illegal, 13 complete handguns, some fully automatic, some with no serial numbers and one stolen, along with 3 37mm launchers, one flame thrower, 26 AR 15/AR 10 uppers, six pistol sliders and 37 AR 15/AR 10 rifle magazines.

But that’s not all, according to KCSO, officers also found 5 AR 15 drum magazines, 13 assorted magazines, 14 homemade suppressors, which are illegal to have, one barrel, pistol parts and accessories, ammunition, switches for fully automatic conversions, which are illegal to have, 3D printer for making automatic switches, 3D printer materials and books on the making and maintaining of firearms and accessories.

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The two suspects ran from the area but were later caught and taken into custody by the TAC30 SWAT team.

“These arrests showcase the exemplary efforts our men and women in uniform make every day to help keep the community safe,” King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall said in the news release. “The collaboration within several units of the sheriff’s office and with our partner agencies helped take dangerous people off the street and prevented a potentially dangerous situation from harming the public. This is policework at its finest.”

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.

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