Two dead in Moses Lake-area explosions

MOSES LAKE, Wash. (AP)— Two explosions killed two people within 10 hours in Grant County, and authorities were investigating whether they were connected.

One man, William Arleigh Walker, 69, was found dead of severe trauma to his neck and chest in his shop outside Moses Lake on Saturday, Undersheriff John Turley said..

On Sunday, Javier Martinez Adame, 53, was found dead on the floor of his kitchen with wounds to his chest and stomach. The home smelled of sulfur, Turley said, and authorities determined "an explosive device Adame may have been handling at the time had exploded, killing him almost instantly."

The cases were being investigated by the Grant County sheriff's office, Washington State Patrol and the FBI. Authorities were trying to determine whether the explosions were connected to each other or to a pipe bomb that blew up a truck near Soap Lake two weeks ago.

The sheriff's office has reported an increase in gang-related activity around Moses Lake as well as an increasing presence of the Old Motorcycle Gang.