Man, 46, Charged With Making Phony Bomb Threats Against Synagogue, Patrol Car
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Prosecutors have charged the man who allegedly phoned in a bomb threat against L.A.'s oldest synagogue and a patrol car parked nearby.
Wan Ryung Song, who is also known as Patrick Song, was charged with four counts of making a bomb threat and a single count of vandalizing religious property, with all counts being considered hate crimes, according to the LAPD.
The 46-year-old called in a series of phony bomb threats to the LAPD Tuesday, first at 2 a.m. targeting Wilshire Boulevard Temple and then at about 8 a.m. against a patrol car parked nearby.
A "Bat Cat" fork lift was used to inspect the car's underside. Members of the bomb squad activated explosives to blow out the rear window and open the trunk, but nothing dangerous was found.
Officer Luis Garcia said the police car had been parked in the neighborhood as a "decoy" for a couple of days as a way to deter crime.
The threat sparked evacuations and street closures in the surrounding area of Koreatown.
Prosecutors say the South Korea native also vandalized the Jewish temple with anti-Semitic comments and a swastika on Dec. 6.
Police say Song emigrated to the United States when he was six years old. He allegedly called in the bomb threats from a pay phone at the Hyun Dae Health Spa, just blocks from the temple.
Prosecutors say Song has three prior felony convictions, including one last year for making criminal threats.
Song was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Downtown Los Angeles.
RELATED STORY: Bogus Bomb Threat Made Against Jewish Temple In Koreatown
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