Man found guilty of robbing multiple people in King County

A Seattle man who went on a King County-wide crime spree that ended in Renton was found guilty by a jury of federal crimes.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), after about an hour of deliberating, a jury on Jan. 29 in U.S. District Court in Seattle found Maar Teng Rambang, 25, guilty of six charges. These charges stem from a Nov. 7, 2022, incident where over about two hours, Rambang carjacked three different people, with his crime spree occurring in Kent, Bellevue, Redmond, Seattle and ending in Renton after a car chase.

Rambang was found guilty of three counts of carjacking and three counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Court documents state that Rambang represented himself in court.

According to the DOJ, carjacking is punishable by up to 25 years in prison, and using a firearm in connection with a crime of violence is punishable by a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison and up to life in prison.

Details of the case

According to the government’s trial brief, the series of events started on Nov. 7, 2022, at approximately 11:42 a.m. in the parking lot of a U.S. Post Office in Kent. The victim parked her Toyota Corolla and was sitting in the driver’s seat when Rambang approached the car and told her to get out, or he would shoot her.

The woman initially thought it was a joke until Rambang opened her car door and pointed a gun at her, prompting her to give him her purse and keys. Surveillance footage showed Rambang purchasing cigars only minutes before the robbery, and then the robbery was captured on camera.

At 12:17 p.m., Rambang then went to Bellevue Square Mall parking garage, and approached a woman who had just parked her BMW sedan, and was walking away from it when Rambang grabbed her by the arm and demanded her car keys, according to court documents. The woman said that Rambang then brandished a firearm and asked her multiple times if she wanted to die.

Rambang then fired at the ground at least once, grabbed the victim’s purse and then drove the BMW out of the parking garage. Video captured the incident.

Officers learned about the earlier carjacking in Kent and found the first victim’s Toyota parked in the Bellevue Square Mall parking garage, according to documents.

At 12:30 p.m., Rambang then attempted an armed robbery at the Amazon Lockers store located inside a Whole Foods in Redmond. Rambang entered the employee-only area, demanded oxycodone and then pulled out a gun and told the employees that he would shoot if he did not get what he wanted. Rambang likely mistook the store for a pharmacy, according to documents.

Employees told Rambang that they did not have oxycodone, and Rambang then pointed a firearm at some boxes and pulled the trigger. Employees told officers that the gun clicked, but it did not fire, and then they saw a bullet in the chamber as the slide moved forward.

At 12:54 p.m., Rambang committed a third carjacking at an office building on Eastlake Avenue in Seattle, according to court documents. An employee who worked in the building had just parked when Rambang approached him in the parking lot and asked for his car keys.

The employee did not think the gun was real, and he tried to stall Rambang, but Rambang then told him, “Don’t be stupid,” and shot the employee in the leg. The employee then gave Rambang the keys to his Jeep Cherokee, and Rambang sped away.

Documents state that the third carjacking victim told officers that his car could be tracked, which led officers to Rambang, who was parked at a Wendy’s on South 212th Street in Kent. At approximately 2 p.m., officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Rambang sped away to Renton.

“A high-speed chase ensued with Rambang driving at speeds above 100 mph and otherwise driving extremely recklessly. The pursuit continued for over 5 miles and lasted 5 minutes and 29 seconds,” according to court documents. “Officers ultimately executed a precision immobilization technique and successfully disabled the Jeep.”

Officers stopped Rambang in Renton, and surrounded the Jeep he was in with firearms drawn and talked Rambang out of the vehicle. Once officers detained Rambang, officers retrieved from his jacket pocket a firearm that was a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a Glock slide, a polymer 80 frame and a distinctive silver tip. Officers further found the carjacking victims’ belongings on Rambang’s person.

According to the DOJ, in closing arguments at trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg said, “The victims were everyday people trying to do everyday things…. The defendant’s crime spree turned these everyday things into nightmares for the victims.”