Archive for August, 2012
By Caleb Hutton
That means the arrested man refused to provide a name to troopers, and jail staff couldn’t figure out his identity right away.
So a detective will interview him and try to figure out who he is. As of this afternoon, no update was available, Washington State Patrol Trooper Brandon Lee said.
The last time a “John Doe” was booked into the Whatcom County Jail — to the best of my recollection — he turned out to be a suspect wanted in connection to an Everett homicide.
Here are today’s jail bookings. Scroll to the bottom to see “DOE, JOHN,” booking number 218648.
Update on Tuesday: Got distracted by a couple of planes crashing/making emergency landings, so didn’t get around to updating this before the weekend. Later on Friday, the jail identified the man as Adan Gomez-Ovalle, who was arrested on suspicion of a DUI and for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.
By Caleb Hutton
Two teens said they stole alcohol and candy from a Bellingham Fred Meyer “out of boredom” and because some girls asked them to, according to Bellingham police.
Security guards stopped the teens, aged 16 and 18, at 3:50 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, and accused them of taking candy and vodka from Fred Meyer, 800 Lakeway Drive.
Police arrived and read them their Miranda Rights. The teens admitted they “stole the alcohol out of boredom and wanting to have some fun, plus some girls asked them to get them alcohol,” according to Bellingham police logs. (See case number 12B32197.)
Both were cited for theft in the third degree and minor in possession of alcohol.
The elder teen, Jamie Mitchell Sears, will face the charges as an adult. His alleged accomplice, who is still a juvenile in the eyes of the law, was released to his mom.
By Caleb Hutton
A hiker was airlifted to St. Joseph hospital after she suffered a compound fracture from a fall in the wilderness near Twin Lakes Road.
The woman’s husband reported at 5 p.m. his wife had fallen on the Yellow Aster Butte trail and that a bone in her leg was exposed, said Whatcom County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Jilk.
Bellingham Mountain Rescue responded with help from a U.S. border helicopter.
The woman was airlifted to Bellingham International Airport, then taken to St. Joseph hospital. She was identified as Laurel Jones, 60, of North East, Md. (that’s a town in northeast Maryland).
Below, the map shows the trailhead.
By Caleb Hutton
It’s a busy day, so I’m just going to copy/paste this news tip submitted to us a minute ago:
Boating Safety Class Offered
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in Bellingham is offering boating skills and seamanship classes beginning September 5.
The 13-session course, which qualifies people for the Washington State Boaters Education card upon completion, teaches boaters how to handle their boat, safety regulations, dealing with emergencies, and radio communication techniques. The course also teaches to use navigational charts in the San Juan Islands. Washington State law requires all persons under age 40 operating a motor of 15 hp or more to have the Boaters’ Education Card. January 1, 2013, this requirement extends to all boaters under age 50.
The class will be taught from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays at St Luke’s Community Education Center, 3333 Squalicum Parkway. The cost is $50; pre-registration is required. For registration or more information, visit the FL 11 website at www.bliaux.com, or contact John Milczewski at 360-739-1310 or email john@bli.net
Posted by Caleb Hutton
Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.
Wednesday, Aug. 22
8:36 a.m. A business on Pipeline Road reported that a battery had been stolen overnight from a commercial truck parked on their property. The battery will cost about $300 to replace, while the damage the thief did to the truck will cost about $500 to repair.
Thursday, Aug. 23
11:11 a.m. A couple on Mitchell Street left home for a few hours during the day and returned to find that a burglar had gotten in through an unsecured window. The thief or thieves stole a small amount of cash and smashed a Tinkerbell cookie jar. The loss is estimated at about $50, and police are investigating.
Friday, Aug. 24
2:50 p.m. A resident on Blaine Avenue reported that a package delivery service had brought a package to her house while he was not at home, and left it on the porch. Someone stole the box before she arrived to collect it. It had contained children’s toys and clothing. Police are investigating.
Saturday, Aug. 25
11:30 p.m. A passerby called police late at night to report that a juvenile was sneaking around a car parked on Martin Street with a flashlight. Officers found and contacted the young man sleeping in the back of the vehicle. He was visiting his aunt but found the small home too crowded for sleeping, so he decided to spend the night in the auto. The boy’s story checked out, and officers wished him a good night.
Sunday, Aug. 26
4:04 a.m. A person called 911 numerous times to find out if police had responded to an earlier call he had made about a possible crash on the freeway. Officers responded and explained that officers had responded to the call and that officers simply had not used their sirens while responding. The intoxicated man thanked officers and agreed to stop calling 911 for the night.
10:26 a.m. A resident called police to check the welfare of her neighbor, whom she had not seen nor been able to contact for some time. An officer scaled the neighbor’s fence and peered through the missing woman’s kitchen window. He could see the lady inside, washing dishes about three feet away, and called to her by name. Following a B-movie worthy scream, the woman came outside and was reunited with her concerned neighbor. No dishes were destroyed during the event.
5:10 p.m. Officers responded to assist Ferndale police and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office with report of a vehicle that was driving slowly on the freeway blocking a lane of travel northbound. Officers arrived to assist with the contact of the occupants. They determined the driver was from a foreign land and was not aware of U.S. traffic laws and our version of courteous driving behavior.
Monday, Aug. 27
8 a.m. The city received information about a business on D Street possibly selling liquor to minors and cigarettes to underaged kids. The information was forward to patrol officers and the state liquor control board.
Tuesday, Aug. 28
1:01 p.m. Blaine Police were dispatched to the Peace Arch border crossing after a fledgling post-modern baker arrived at the border with a bag of fresh baked brownies which contained a special ingredient prohibited by law. A Blaine officer confirmed that the baked goods indeed had suspected marijuana in them via a chemical field test. The Oregon resident was arrested, cited and released with the court date for the offense.
Wednesday, Aug. 29
8:36 a.m. A customer reported he purchased a $1413.56 watch on Ebay, but when he came to pick up the watch at his post office box, the package was empty. The victim had tried unsuccessfully to contact the seller, and Ebay advised a police report was needed in order to reimburse his money. Officers are assisting in the matter.
By Caleb Hutton
LUMMI RESERVATION — A woman was arrested on suspicion of first-degree domestic violence assault and battery Wednesday morning, Aug. 29, but Lummi police have not released any details in the case.
Kathleen Alayne Taylor, 47, was booked into Whatcom County Jail at 8 a.m. by the Lummi Nation Police Department.
As of this afternoon, police have not commented on the assault.
Taylor had been cited and released for shoplifting a bottle of Coca-Cola at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday in the 3200 block of Northwest Avenue in Bellingham. It didn’t appear she had any active warrants at the time she was cited, according to Bellingham police. So it’s likely the assault happened since then.
Assault in the first degree often means the attacker used a deadly weapon.
Taylor’s criminal history includes theft in the first degree, robbery in the second degree and harassment.
By Caleb Hutton
Via police scanner traffic:
9:03 a.m. A caller reported a woman was burning court paperwork that had just been delivered to her at an RV park on Beachcomber Drive in Birch Bay. Dispatchers said the court order hadn’t been delivered yet, according to their files, but the caller said the owner of the RV park had just served the paperwork.
9:35 a.m. A woman, in her 40s, had an allergic reaction in the Ferndale High School cafeteria. An ambulance responded.
11:20 a.m. A man ran from law enforcement. He may have told a witness he had warrants. (Location has been scratchy, but it’s probably near East Sunset Drive.) Helicopter helping in search.
At 11:51 a.m., dispatchers radioed to the pilot, “They got him detained.”
By Caleb Hutton
BELLINGHAM — A woman was cited for trespassing after she was accused of throwing a skateboard at a man in the 1400 block of Puget Street.
Ellen Rose Kenna, 32, had been trespassed from the skate park near Civic Field for causing problems two times before. But she was there “picking up litter” Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 28, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.
She later told police a man, in his 20s, had been dropping garbage there. She got mad at the man and at 2 p.m. threw a skateboard at him, Young said. The man didn’t want to pursue charges and refused to talk to police.
Regardless, Kenna was cited for trespassing. She was not booked into jail because police didn’t have enough evidence, right then, to make an arrest for assault.
In a protection order filed last year, Kenna’s mother listed a long history of mental health problems. She said her daughter had a habit of throwing things (phones, food) at people.
A couple hours later, in an unrelated case, a woman was assaulted with a skateboard in a Bellingham restaurant parking lot.
By Samantha Wohlfeil
Bellingham Police have released a surveillance photo of the man who robbed the Fairhaven branch of Banner Bank on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 21.
The man appears to be the same suspect who robbed the same bank on July 25.
The man walked into the bank, located at 1414 12th St. about 1:23 p.m. Tuesday sporting a long black ponytail and wearing dark sunglasses, a baseball hat, and a scarf around his face.
Unlike the July robbery, in which the male suspect displayed a semi-automatic pistol, the robber on Tuesday did not show any weapon when he demanded money from the teller.
The man left on a black and white bicycle, which was later found next to Lower Padden Creek west of the Bellingham Tennis Club.
A federal helicopter assisted police in the search for the man but they were unable to find him.
Both robberies occurred around 1:30 p.m. and both times the man got away on a bicycle.
When asked if he thought the robber might have tried to catch the 1:50 p.m. Greyhound bus that leaves for Seattle each day from the Bellingham Amtrak station, located just blocks from where the suspect’s bicycle was found on Tuesday, Bellingham Lt. Rick Sucee said police are not sure how the suspect got away.
The suspect was described as a thin white male in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall. He had a long black ponytail and was wearing a dark baseball cap, a sky blue jersey-style shirt with dark blue sleeves, dark pants, and dark shoes with white soles. The suspect may have a goatee and mustache.
A man by the same description robbed the same bank July 25. Police searched from downtown Bellingham to Teddy Bear Cove with the help of a federal border helicopter, but they were unable to locate the suspect. In that case the suspect left the bank on a red mountain bike.
Anyone with information about either robbery is asked to call the Bellingham Police Department at 360-778-8800.
Below, the surveillance image of the man in Tuesday’s robbery.
Here’s the picture of the suspect from the July 25 robbery.
Both photos were courtesy to The Bellingham Herald from the Bellingham Police Department.
Below a map of the bank’s location and the location where the suspect’s bike was found.
View August 21 Banner Bank Robbery in a larger map
By Samantha Wohlfeil
BELLINGHAM – What initially sounded like an arson at a vacant house on Primrose Lane turned out to be a small fire set and extinguished by two transient people apparently living in the house, according to Bellingham Police.
Reports of visible flames and smoke first came across the police scanner at about 9:47 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22.
Firefighters responded, but when they tried to enter the house, a transient man tried to block the door, Bellingham Police Sgt. Shawn Aiumu said.
Officers arrived and arrested the man for obstructing law enforcement, Aiumu said.
The small fire was out by the time firefighters entered the house.
Apparently the man and a transient woman were living in the abandoned house. They had brought in a few shopping carts filled with their things, Aiumu said.
The man claimed the woman started the fire, and he put it out, but the woman claimed the man started the fire and she put it out, Aiumu said.
No serious damage was reported.
View Larger Map
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.