A 25-year-old Seattle man has been convicted in federal court for a series of armed carjackings across King County that began in Kent and included shooting one victim to steal his vehicle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
A jury on Thursday, Jan. 29 found Maar Teng Rambang guilty of three counts of carjacking and three counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence tied to a Nov. 7, 2022 crime spree that stretched through Kent, Bellevue, Redmond, Seattle and Renton. Jurors deliberated about an hour following a four day trial in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
The conviction stems from what prosecutors described as a daytime crime spree that started just before Noon outside the Kent East Hill Post Office. Court records say Rambang ordered a woman out of her car at gunpoint and drove away in the stolen vehicle. He later went to Bellevue Square Mall, where he fired a gun while threatening another woman and demanding her BMW.
Prosecutors said Rambang then drove to Redmond and attempted to rob Amazon employees at a delivery locker inside a Whole Foods Market before heading to Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood, where he shot a man in the leg and stole his Jeep SUV.
“The victims were everyday people trying to do everyday things…. The defendant’s crime spree turned these everyday things into nightmares for the victims,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg said in closing arguments.
Police later tracked the stolen Jeep back toward Kent. According to prosecutors, Rambang fled officers at speeds of 90 to 100 miles per hour, driving through center turn lanes, gas station parking lots and red lights before law enforcement in Renton blocked the vehicle and arrested him.
Carjacking carries a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Using a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison. U.S. District Judge John C. Chun will schedule sentencing at a later date.
The case was investigated by the police departments in Kent, Bellevue, Redmond and Seattle, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd Greenberg and Rachel Yemini.
