Home Care In Federal Way, WA

OLYMPIA — A Federal Way gun shop and its former owner have agreed to pay $3 million for violating the state’s recent ban on selling magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Tuesday that Federal Way Discount Guns, and its former owner, Mohammed Baghai, sold thousands of high-capacity magazines after a state law to ban them went into effect in 2022, and continued to sell them even after the state filed a lawsuit. Ferguson described the violations as “egregious and brazen.”

“Federal Way Discount Guns chose to violate a critical law aimed at combating mass shootings,” Ferguson said in a statement. “Washington businesses are following the law and stopped selling high-capacity magazines. This resolution provides accountability for someone who flagrantly violated the law and will increase law enforcement resources to combat gun violence.”

Federal Way Discount Guns and Baghai each declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday. Since the lawsuit, the store has been sold to Baghai’s son, Andrew, according to the AG’s office. The store’s website includes a link to a crowdfunding page “asking for donations that will help us to continue to stand up against Bob Ferguson and his team’s aggression as they relentlessly go after our 2nd amendment rights.”

The Legislature passed Senate Bill 5078 in 2022 to ban the sale, distribution, import and manufacture of magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. It went into effect July 1 of that year. The ban itself has since faced federal court challenges.

One of the lawsuits, filed by the Silent Majority Foundation and other parties, is ongoing in the Eastern District of Washington. The other case, filed by the Second Amendment Foundation and other parties in the Western District of Washington, has been stayed awaiting the result of a California case, Duncan v. Bonta, on high-capacity magazines at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ferguson’s office says Federal Way Discount Guns sold about 3,600 high-capacity magazines between July 1 and when the state sued the store in December 2022. It then sold 246 more, and in early January 2023, the state won a preliminary injunction barring Federal Way Discount Guns from selling the magazines, the AG’s office said.

The Federal Way Discount Guns case was the first lawsuit filed by the AG to enforce the violations of the law. A lawsuit against Gator’s Guns, based in Kelso, for selling high-capacity magazines after the ban went into effect is ongoing in Cowlitz County Superior Court. Lakewood retailer WGS Guns was penalized $15,000 for violating the law in December 2022.

Under Tuesday’s consent decree, Federal Way Discount Guns and Baghai have agreed to pay $3 million. The AG’s office will recoup about $1 million it has spent litigating the case, but Ferguson said he expected the remaining $2 million will go to local law enforcement agencies toward efforts to fight gun violence.

Claire Withycombe: 206-464-2578 or [email protected]; Claire Withycombe is a Seattle Times staff reporter covering state government.

Federal Way Discount Guns sold over 3,000 high-capacity magazines after Washington state law banned sales in July 2022.

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A Federal Way gun store and its former owner will pay $3 million for selling thousands of high-capacity magazines in violation of Washington state law, which took effect in July 2022, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday.

Federal Way Discount Guns and former owner, Mohammed Baghai, agreed to pay the $3 million fine within 30 days. Of the fine, $1 million will be used to litigate the case and the remaining $2 million will be given to local law enforcement agencies for gun violence reduction efforts, according to Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

“Federal Way Discount Guns chose to violate a critical law aimed at combating mass shootings,” said Ferguson. “Washington businesses are following the law and stopped selling high-capacity magazines. This resolution provides accountability for someone who flagrantly violated the law and will increase law enforcement resources to combat gun violence.”

As of July 2022, the sale of ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds is banned in the state. Importing, manufacturing and distributing high-capacity magazines are also outlawed.

Between July and December 2022, the gun store sold 3,625 high-capacity magazines, according to the attorney general’s office. The store continued selling the high-capacity magazines for another month after the lawsuit was filed and sold another 246 high-capacity magazines before Ferguson won a preliminary injunction, banning the store’s sales.

In April 2023, King County Superior Court Judge Wyman Yip ruled that Federal Way Discount Guns violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act. KING 5 has reached out to Federal Way Discount Guns for comment.

Baghai sold the store to his son, Andrew, and retired to Nevada since the lawsuit, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Tuesday’s consent decree bars the store from selling, offering for sale or facilitating the distribution of high-capacity magazines and resolves the case.

The Attorney General's Office conducted a series of investigations into gun retailers across Washington, including those in King, Pierce and Spokane counties, among others. The Federal Way Discount Guns lawsuit is Ferguson's first litigation to enforce the ban on high-capacity magazine sales.

A bridge under construction on Sound Transit’s Federal Way Link Extension is a marvel of technology and engineering. Few will ever get to see it.

The bridge — also called a guideway — will span a stretch of unstable soil in a narrow space between Interstate 5 and wetlands. The unexpected construction came after a landslide in summer 2022 revealed the weak soil.

The 7.8-mile extension of Link light rail from Angle Lake, just south of of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, to Federal Way at South 320th Street is 83 percent complete, according to Sound Transit. The bridge construction, located just south of South 259th Place, will push back the extension’s opening date to mid-2026.

The project broke ground in 2020 and had been slated to open in late 2024.

When it’s operational, the $2.5 billion project will whisk passengers from Federal Way to Sea-Tac in 15 minutes and downtown Seattle in 46 minutes.

While engineers can plan to the smallest detail, it’s nature that makes the final call. The 2022 slide just south of South 259th Place was a rejection, of sorts, of building an elevated guideway through the area using the standard 130-foot spacing between bridge columns. That would have placed several piers directly in the potential slide zone.

“We can’t have those foundations sitting in a zone that’s going to liquefy potentially in the future,” said Mike Jellison, a Sound Transit construction manager.

“If and when there’s a big earthquake, which will happen someday, it’s pretty much all gonna slide,” said Anna Bonjukian, Sound Transit’s acting principal construction manager. The choice was to engineer columns robust enough to withstand a slide or just span it. Engineers chose option B with a little bit of option A.

Now, two 300-foot-long and one whopping 500-foot-long span will be poured in place to get over the problem area. The beefy columns that will hold them are already there. The spans will grow out from each column, foot by foot, by using casting machines called travelers.

Called structure C, the guideway will contain the longest span in Sound Transit’s entire Link system.

All of structure C’s piers are now in place between its north and south abutments. The three most northerly spans only require the precast concrete girders that have been used through the system.

On a recent wet workday, crews removed the last forms from the piers and preparied the travelers to begin working north and south from the top of the structures. A stray black cat, informally raised by construction crews, roamed around the site’s trailers.

Although structure C has put the project back a year, Sound Transit is confident it is on the home stretch.

“I do believe we have the best builders in the country working on structure C,” Jellison said.

When the 28-feet-tall bridge is complete, soil will be built up around the piers and underneath the guideway, giving it the appearance of a ground level track.

The redesign and added construction costs for the new structure C added $72 million to the final cost.

Trains will only cross South 320th Street in Federal Way in order to switch tracks. But that guideway and adjoining station has changed the look of the area. A large lot next to the station will eventually become transit oriented development, according to Sound Transit.

The two other stations and parking garages in the extension are also assuming their final appearances. This week, crews were installing tile in the stations.

Flyover video from October shows most of the infrastructure — guideways, rails, stations and garages— in place. Rails still need to be installed south of South 288th Street to Federal Way. The system also needs overhead power lines, called a catenary, installed to energize the trains as well as telecommunication cables.

In 2024, the portion of the track between Angle Lake and the Kent Des Moines stations will be substantially complete, Bonjukian said. Portions of the new track south of Angle Lake are fully functional now. Sound Transit has been testing the tracks with trains (sorry, no passengers until 2026).

Drivers along I-5 and city streets should see trains on the entire Federal Way Link Extension in 2025 as contractor Kiewit and Sound Transit begin testing the system.

Washington has concluded the first case it filed against a firearms store for violating the state's ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines.

Federal Way Discount Guns was found guilty of committing "egregious and brazen violations” of state law in April 2023, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Tuesday as he announced a multimillion dollar settlement that will close the case.

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According to the AG's Office:

The AG's Office reports that after the state's ban on high-capacity magazines went into effect in July 2022, Federal Way Discount Guns sold nearly 4,000 of the magazines, despite the store being informed by distributors that they were illegal in Washington. The store continued to sell the products after the state sued over the violations in December 2022. It was the first lawsuit the office filed over the new ban.

According to the case presented by the Attorney General's Office, four investigators from the office were sent into the store over four months and purchased a total of nine high-capacity magazines, including a 50-round drum magazine. In each instance, the clerk threw away the receipt so there was no record of the product being sold. It was also commented on by staff that the sale was illegal. The store's owner, Baghai, handled one transaction for a 30-round magazine for an AR-style rifle, and a 33-round magazine for a Glock pistol.

“They knew they were violating the law, and they continued to sell these magazines," Ferguson said. "It took a court order to get them to follow the law. They fought our investigation every step of the way, including ignoring a court order to cooperate. They were held in contempt of court as a result of that.”

Baghai has since sold the shop to a family member and has moved out of state. The defendants have 30 days to pay the $3 million. Ferguson said he is confident the state will be paid and noted that the former owner owns millions in real estate investments, and has recently sold $5 million worth of land.

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The settlement with Federal Way Discount Guns is the latest development in Ferguson's effort to enforce Washington's ban on high-capacity magazines.

Shortly after the ban went into effect, the Attorney General's Office began undercover sweeps of gun stores to ensure that the law was being followed. It found three stores that continued to sell the magazines. WGS Guns in Lakewood was fined $15,000 in December 2022 for violating the ban. The state has also sued Gators Custom Guns in Kelso. That case is ongoing. The AG's Office alleges that Gators Guns offered to sell high-capacity magazines 11,408 times after the ban went into effect, and sold five to undercover investigators. The store faces a fine of at least $7,500 for each sale.

Why you can trust KUOW

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Mason Thomas scored 12 of his team-high 20 points in a breakaway third quarter, and 10th-ranked and defending 4A NPSL champion Federal Way halted No. 3 Tahoma's bid to clinch the league title with a 70-56 home victory Thursday night.

The Eagles built as large as a 16-point lead in the third quarter in snapping the Bears' six-game winning streak.

With a one-game lead over Federal Way, Tahoma still has a chance to clinch its first league title since 2013 if it can sweep upcoming home games against Decatur, Kentridge and Mount Rainier - assuming the Eagles win their final two games as well.

Here are three takeaways from the Federal Way-Tahoma game:

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PUTTING TOGETHER ANOTHER PLAYOFF SQUAD

A year ago, senior-dominant Federal Way advanced to the WIAA Class 4A semifinals, and eventually took home a third-place trophy.

After graduation and roster defections, the lone returner for the Eagles was senior guard Kofi Peyton.

What Federal Way has done to even be within earshot of another league title with Peyton, three transfers, including Thomas, and the promotion of a lot of last season's junior-varsity roster has been nothing short of remarkable.

Against Tahoma, Thomas (20 points) and Peyton (13 points) led the parade, but four other players scored at least six points - and the defense forced the Bears into an estimated 20 turnovers.

"We show some lack of maturity, lack of experience, but they all buy in in the sense they want it," Federal Way boys coach Yattah Reed said.

"I have to remember, 'This ain’t last year’s team,' and I cannot expect them to do what last year’s team did. Instead of trying to change them, I’ve had to change my coaching style."

Reed has had to be more patient in seeing this group mesh.

"You need pieces (for a playoff run)," Reed said. "You need good guard play. We have length and we can defend - when they want to.

"I feel like we can make some noise. The way we played tonight, I hope it will carry on into districts."

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MASON THOMAS IS LEARNING A NEW ROLE

Before arriving at Federal Way, Thomas was the top scorer in the 2A SPSL with Franklin Pierce High School.

But after coming to the Eagles, Reed inserted him into the point-guard role - something he hasn't done before.

"In the beginning, it was kind of tough for him because he did not run the point (at Franklin Pierce)," Reed said. "Now he has the ball 90 percent of the time … and I am trying to get him to know, ‘You’ve got to trust your teammates.’:

Because of his overall strength, Thomas can seemingly get to the basket whenever he chooses to attack. But he has developed into a facilitator - and floor leader.

"I accomplished a lot individually (at Franklin Pierce), but coming here solely, I wanted to bond with my teammates and get what it feels like to make it far in state and - get to the (Tacoma Dome)," Thomas said.

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TAHOMA MISSED A CHANCE TO SOAK IN THE MOMENT

The Bears had everything to gain Thursday night - and never seemed on track to take down 4A NPSL nemesis Federal Way in its own gymnasium.

They took a 2-0 lead on technical-foul shots before the tipoff, lost the lead in the first minute of the game - and trailed the rest of the way.

Tahoma went stretches with sloppy passing and turning it over - and not matching the Eagles' energy.

Jayden Stephens was a lone bright spot with a game-high 22 points - 13 coming in the third quarter.

"It just wasn't us tonight," Tahoma boys coach Rick Tripp said. "I felt we were timid from the get-go."