A 29-year-old man accused of stalking and threatening to kill a woman at her Lacey area home is being held in the county jail without bail.
Wilson Yuheng Hong attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Tuesday.
Thurston County deputies arrested Hong on Monday after finding him at the home of a woman near McAllister Grove Community Park. The woman reportedly called 911 after Hong allegedly broke into her home. Deputies allege Hong followed her across state lines and stalked her before the incident, according to court records.
Judge Allyson Zipp ordered Hong be held without bail and barred him from contacting the woman he allegedly threatened. Hong is expected to remain in the county jail until further order while his case progresses.
Zipp also found probable cause for several crimes, including first-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted kidnapping, first-degree burglary, felony stalking, felony harassment, second-degree malicious mischief and possession of burglary tools.
Court records indicate Hong has no known criminal convictions or other open cases.
The investigation
A probable cause statement describes the investigation from the perspective of law enforcement.
Deputies responded to the woman's home at 2:38 a.m. Monday after she called 911 to report that someone broke into her home.
The home appeared dark and no noises could be heard when deputies arrived, according to the statement.
Deputies noticed a silver Kia Soul with a Nevada license plate parked in the driveway. The statement indicates the driver's door and the back hatch were open and an empty Glock gun case was inside.
Hong and the woman appeared at the front door at about 2:56 a.m. after deputies rang the doorbell and knocked on the garage door. The woman reportedly appeared to be frightened and visibly shaken while Hong stood close to her and breathed heavily.
Deputies eventually separated the two and began talking to them individually. The woman reported that Hong broke into her house with a Glock-style gun.
She told the deputy that she moved to Thurston County in late July for a new job. Prior to that, she and Hong had gone on about five dates while she lived in New Mexico.
She said she had told Hong she was moving to Seattle and did not specify where she planned to live, according to the probable cause statement. She said Hong wanted to meet her in Seattle, but she declined his request and blocked him from contacting her.
In late August, the woman said she received a piece of pottery she previously gave Hong in New Mexico. The pottery was found in front of her garage and contained a note.
The note allegedly said Hong was upset with her, he "did something bad" and "almost hurt somebody," according to the statement.
On Monday, the woman told deputies she woke up in the middle of the night to use her bathroom when she heard a loud crash followed by banging on her bedroom door.
She reportedly grabbed her phone and hid in her bathroom. Hong allegedly broke down her bedroom door and she eventually exited the bathroom to try to calm him down.
The statement indicates Hong carried a gun and told her, "I want to kill you."
The woman reportedly persuaded Hong to drop the gun and speak with the deputies who were waiting outside. She told the deputy she did not know how Hong found her home and she was scared to be alone.
Another deputy spoke with Hong after removing a pocketknife he was carrying. Hong reportedly told the deputy he came to talk to his ex-girlfriend because she was not returning his calls.
Hong then allegedly admitted to entering the home by breaking the back sliding glass door, according to the statement. Hong allegedly told the deputy he carried the gun to scare the woman and he planned to use it on himself.
Deputies acquired a search warrant and looked through Hong's rental car. The statement indicates they found a backpack with personal documents and notes, including drafts of the note left in the pottery as well as a statement advising his sibling was his beneficiary.
On the way to the county jail, Hong allegedly said he "should not have done that" and "she is going to be traumatized," according to the statement.
A deputy looked up Hong's car rental history through the rental car company he used. The deputy reportedly learned Hong had rented at least three other cars in addition to the Kia that was found at the woman's home.
The deputy then contacted Olympia police who confirmed those rental cars were in the Martin Way and Lilly Road area during the times Hong had rented them. That's the same area where the woman had been going to work, according to the statement.
Back at the woman's home, deputies reportedly found a shattered sliding glass door, a small glass brake tool lying on the ground, a power saw and a yellow crowbar.
Inside the rental car, the statement says deputies found zip ties, duct tape, two straightened metal coat hangers, lock picking tools, a headlamp, two lockjaw plyers, a hammer, various screwdrivers, work gloves, N95 masks and a receipt for the power saw.
Court records indicate Hong is due back in court on Sept. 24 for his arraignment hearing.
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