Timothy Richard Ray Riggins, Bomb Possession, Washington 2019

SPokane, Washington – In a shocking turn of events, Timothy Richard Ray Riggins, a 33-year-old documented Norteno gang member from Moses Lake, Washington, has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm and an improvised destructive device.

According to court records, on November 3, 2019, the Moses Lake Police Department received a 911 call from a woman who reported that Riggins had just assaulted her, stolen her vehicle, and was in possession of a bomb. The woman explained that the bomb was in a fanny pack and that she was concerned for the safety of a friend.

The woman also stated that Riggins had threatened her with the bomb and had held a lighter next to the fuse, stating that she should not “mess with a guy like him.” The Moses Lake Police Department was familiar with Riggins and knew he had an active felony warrant for his arrest from the Washington State Department of Corrections.

Officers located the woman’s vehicle and tracked Riggins to a nearby residence. While executing a search warrant at the residence, officers found Riggins hiding inside a top-loading washing machine. Along Riggins’ path of travel from the stolen vehicle to the residence, officers recovered a fanny pack that contained a large, operable commercial firework with more than 20 nails taped to the outside, with a large fuse.

The officers also found two additional improvised destructive devices near the fanny pack. In imposing sentence, Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson noted the significant nature and seriousness of Riggins’ offense, highlighting the dangerous fact that if the devices had detonated, they could have seriously altered, or even destroyed, the victim’s life.

Riggins’ longstanding gang membership and lengthy criminal history were also considered in the sentencing. “Thanks to quick-thinking and responsive law enforcement, officers got to Mr. Riggins’ bombs before he could detonate them and harm innocent people,” said Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

Riggins will serve three years on federal supervision after his release from prison. The case was prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, a federal, state, and local law enforcement collaboration to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals responsible for violent crimes in our neighborhoods.

This case was investigated by the Spokane Resident Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) and the Moses Lake Police Department. Caitlin Baunsgard, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, prosecuted the case.

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