Owner of backpack that forced bridge closure sentenced
Monday, September 8, 2008 6:54 PM PDT
By Leslie Slape
Printable version
E-mail this articleThe man whose mysterious backpack caused the Puget Island Bridge to be closed for nearly six hours Saturday pleaded guilty Monday to obstructing an officer, a misdemeanor.
Frank George Aguilar, 40, of Long Beach was sentenced to four days in jail, with credit for the two days he already served. The remaining two days were suspended on condition he pay a $500 fine, a Wahkiakum County District Court clerk said.
Aguilar’s backpack caused a stir when Wahkiakum County sheriff’s deputies found it tied to the bridge that connects Cathlamet to Puget Island.
On the precaution that it contained explosives, authorities closed the bridge and the U.S. Coast Guard and Clatsop County Marine Patrol kept boats away from 7 a.m. to 12:46 p.m.
The Washington State Patrol bomb squad removed the backpack, which contained clothes, a cell phone, car keys, cash and miscellaneous items.
Aguilar was arrested in connection with obstructing an officer after he gave a fictitious name when he came to retrieve the bag, authorities said.
He could not explain why his backpack was tied to the bridge, according to the Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Office.
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