An Auburn man donned a mail carrier’s uniform last week and brought along a cellphone jammer, zip ties and other gear as part of an alleged scheme to coerce a Seattle man into giving him 10 bitcoins in exchange for information related to a civil suit the Seattle man is involved in, according to King County prosecutors.
“The facts of this case are quite extraordinary,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Brynn Jacobson wrote in charging documents filed Wednesday against 31-year-old Ian Blair.
Though Seattle police continue to investigate Blair’s “ultimate intention,” his scheme was well planned and violent, Jacobson wrote. Blair is charged with first-degree burglary, extortion and criminal impersonation and two counts of second-degree assault. He is accused of attacking his primary target and the man’s wife, according to charging papers.
Arrested Feb. 20 at the couple’s Phinney Ridge home after neighbors called 911, Blair remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
Seattle police officers arrived at the couple’s home a few blocks west of Green Lake a little after 2 p.m. that day and found the male homeowner “wrestling” with a man later identified as Blair, who was wearing a U.S. Postal Service uniform and carrying a mailbag, charging papers state.
The male homeowner later told detectives the doorbell rang, he answered the door and was given a piece of mail, which the carrier insisted the man open in his presence, according to the charges. Though he thought it a strange request, the man complied and read the letter printed with a familiar law firm’s letterhead, the charges state.
The man is involved in a drawn-out civil case and the letter offered “new information” to help him “locate significant assets” and “make a credible threat that you’ve not uncovered yet,” according to a copy of the letter included in charging papers. The letter demanded 10 bitcoins, five to be paid upfront and the remainder upon delivery of the information, and threatened to go to the “other side” with information to land the man “in trouble with the law” if he didn’t meet the deadline a week later. It closed with an encrypted email address.
After handing him the letter, Blair pushed the man into his house and attacked him after he fell to the floor, the charges state. The alleged assault lasted for several minutes before the man’s wife tried to intervene and was punched in the face and briefly strangled by Blair, according to the charges.
Both husband and wife told police they do not know Blair, the charges read.
Two witnesses at a house across the street from the couple’s home later told police they heard a commotion and calls for help, saw the men on the floor through the open front door and ran over to try to separate them, charging papers state. One witness called 911.
After police arrived, the male homeowner was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a broken breastbone and possible fractures to a rib and toe while his wife had bruising on her neck and face, the charges state.
Inside the mailbag Blair was allegedly carrying, police found a roll of duct tape, heavy-duty black plastic bags, thick zip ties, two Tasers, a tourniquet, a lint roller, a “trac” or burner phone, a box of plastic gloves and a beanie, mask and sunglasses “that could be worn together to completely obscure a person’s face,” charging papers state. The bag also allegedly contained some sort of cellphone jammer and two faraday bags, which are specialized, signal-blocking pouches to stop phones and tablets from receiving signals.
In his wallet, police found Blair’s Washington driver’s license and U.S. Army identification but nothing to indicate he was a U.S. Postal Service worker, the charges state.
While securing Blair’s phone, officers saw a text message that read, “Prius is here,” and noted a Prius was parked in the driveway of the couple’s home, leading investigators to believe that Blair may not have been working alone, according to charging papers.
After taking Blair into custody, police discovered he was wearing a full Tyvek suit under the mail carrier’s uniform, the charges state.
A Tyvek suit is a lightweight, disposable, hooded coverall worn to protect against hazardous particles and liquid splashes.
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