Police

Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.

Tuesday, May 14

1:02 p.m.: A resident on Alder Street notified police when she discovered that a lock box containing legal documents was missing from her home. Luckily a family of good Samaritan’s discovered the box, dented but intact, hidden under a tree a short distance away.  The owner and her property were reunited and police are investigating how it made its way out of the victim’s house.

Wednesday, May 15

9:34 a.m.: A resident received an unexpected visit from an acquaintance.  The guest left rather suddenly during a moment when the resident had stepped out of the room.  More disconcerting was the fact that the victim’s laptop computer and a significant amount of cash disappeared at the same time as the visitor.  The felony theft is under investigation.

11:11 a.m.: A Birch Bay family contacted police after finding out that a Craigslist ad for a rental home in Blaine was fraudulent.  Fortunately they had the foresight to drive by the home that was listed and happened to meet the homeowner, who was happily in residence and unaware of the good deal some stranger was offering for her house.  An officer took a preliminary report and also referred the reporting party to a clearinghouse website for reporting internet fraud, as the apparent suspect claimed to be working from Nigeria.  Neither the prospective renter nor the homeowner suffered a loss.

11:08 p.m.: Twice within 30 minutes police were dispatched to a 911 hang up at an apartment on Martin Street. The second time the caller told dispatchers that he was being beaten and needed help.  The arriving officer found the caller in the same position and condition as he had been on the first call: drunk and asleep, deeply dreaming an intoxicated drama.  The cops in his head must have done their job, as dispatch did not receive a call number three.

Thursday, May 16

5:57 p.m.: Police responded to a call that a car had been left abandoned in the middle of Adelia Street.  An officer arrived in short order, and was confirming that the report was accurate when the car’s owner came out of a nearby home to ask if there was a problem.  The officer outlined the issue and  recommended a 4-foot solution.  The motorist moved her auto that much closer to the curb against which she had intended to park, thus reopening the street for passing traffic.

Friday, May 17

9:29 a.m.: Officers were dispatched to a theft that had just occurred at a business in the 1700 block of H Street. Dispatch reported a store clerk witnessed two women shoplifting and then leaving in a vehicle. Officers were able to check the store camera system and positively identified one of the adult women. Officers located the suspect who was issued a criminal citation.

Sunday, May 19

4:09 a.m.: Police were dispatched to a report of a car in the ditch along Bell Road. An officer arrived and contacted the driver, who said he had been trying to turn around when his car fell off the road. The officer administered roadside sobriety tests, which the motorist failed. The 25-year-old Arlington resident was arrested, processed and booked in to jail.

8:05 a.m.: An officer was dispatched to a dispute and found two neighbors embroiled in a disagreement over a barbecue.  The appliance had disappeared from its owner’s property, and when he spotted it at a  neighbor’s house he went to get it.  This sparked the ire of the neighbor, who was able to show the police that his barbecue was right where it belonged. The officers warned the accuser about trespassing on other people’s property, and then helped him file a theft report for his still missing Charbroil brand propane BBQ worth about $150.

BELLINGHAM — Firefighters have not determined, for certain, what sparked a fire Thursday night, May 16, at a derelict house on Alabama Street.

But so far, the evidence suggests squatters had been there earlier in the day, said Bellingham Fire Battalion Chief Andy Day.

Firefighters got a call at 9 p.m. reporting smoke and flames at a familiar address, 2302 Alabama St. The home had been badly damaged in a fire in late 2010.

Here are some photos from Herald photographer Matt McDonald.

Firefighters took a defensive approach once they determined nobody was inside, because of the low value of the already badly damaged home. Still, they managed to keep the structure standing.

“So it’s a sturdy little house,” Day said.

It took 21 minutes to get the blaze under control, and another two hours to finish mopping up, Day said. A small oxygen tank inside exploded during the effort to douse the flames, jolting firefighters for a second, but leaving them unharmed.

Afterward, investigators found bedding and other evidence of recently departed squatters, and neighbors reported seeing someone going in and out of the home earlier in the day.

The house has not had legitimate tenants since the fire in December 2010.

From Bellingham Herald archives:

Bellingham home destroyed by fire after man falls asleep with lit cigarette

BELLINGHAM – An Alabama Street house was destroyed by fire early Tuesday, Dec. 21.

The fire occurred in the 2300 block of Alabama Street shortly after 2 a.m. A resident apparently fell asleep with a lit cigarette that ignited nearby combustible materials, according to Bellingham Fire Marshal Jason Napier. That person was able to escape the burning home with the help of family members.

One person was injured and transported to St. Joseph hospital, said Assistant Chief Andy Day of the Bellingham Fire Department. Day did not release the victim’s name, and that person’s medical status was not known.

The home had an alarm system monitored by an off-site alarm company that called in the fire at 2:11 a.m.

When the first fire unit responded four minutes later, the front section of the house was engulfed in flames, Day said.

Four engine companies, one medic unit and two supervisory personnel worked for about two hours to control the fire, Battalion Chief Steve Lamoureaux said.

The Mount Baker Chapter of the American Red Cross is providing assistance to those displaced by the fire.

The Whatcom County Assessor’s Office has photos of the house, from before and after the first fire.

BELLINGHAM — Police have arrested a man on suspicion of first-degree assault and attempted kidnapping after a bicyclist was beaten and stabbed over an apparent debt for heroin.

Alec James Dunn-Greketis, 24, was booked into jail Wednesday morning, May 15. Two other suspects remain at-large. Police had been trying to determine their identities earlier in the week.

Here’s the background from Tuesday’s blog post.

Police responded to the Sunnyland neighborhood at 10:30 p.m. when the victim, a 44-year-old Ferndale man, banged on a front door in the 2200 block of King Street asking residents to call 911, said Bellingham Police Sgt. Shawn Aiumu.

He claimed he’d been riding his bicycle in the 900 block of Virginia Street when two men and a woman got out of a car, knocked him off his bike and beat him in an alley, injuring his back. At some point, one of the men pulled out a knife and cut him on the front side of his torso, leaving him with superficial wounds, Aiumu said.

The man knows the suspects by sight and by first name. Officers are trying to figure out their identities. The car was described as a hatchback. The man’s urgent need for medical treatment at St. Joseph hospital curtailed police interviews Monday night. So more details may be released in the coming days.

Bellingham police believe the trio tried to force the bicyclist into the car — a Chevy Tracker — during the assault.

Update at 9 p.m. A second suspect, Joshua Lee Brown, 38, was booked into jail this evening.

BELLINGHAM — A backpack thief tried to stab a Bellingham man Tuesday afternoon, May 14, when a witness of the theft confronted the suspect.

In the interest of full disclosure, the victim of the knife attack is the Bellingham Herald’s former photo editor, Russ Kendall. I’ve re-posted the following narrative, with permission, from his Facebook page.

Had a disturbing adventure this afternoon [at 4:50 p.m.] in downtown Bellingham. While sitting in my car on N. State across from Dashi Noodle Bar with [my 8-year-old son] after a swim lesson at the YMCA, I observed, via my rear view mirror, a scruffy young man checking the doors of all the cars parked behind me. When he got to the car just behind me[, a Ford Focus,] I watched him reach in the window, open the door and take out a backpack/briefcase. He was wearing a large winter coat (it’s May and about 70 degrees) and had 2 – 3 backpacks already slung over his shoulders. I got out of my car and yelled loudly, so all the people there, all 12 – 15 of them, would hear, “Hey, how about you put back the stuff you just took out of that car?” The guy ignored me and crossed Holly, ending up at the corner near the downtown YMCA. I followed him and asked him again. He pulled a knife on me, hissed “you wanna get cut? OK” and lunged at me. All the people who moments ago had been standing at that corner had vanished. No help for me. So I jumped back, dodging the guy and he followed me into the middle of Holly St. The light changed, cars started to drive around us so he returned to the sidewalk near the Y, then took off running. I dodged cars to return to the other side of the street. Then I noticed that [my son] was watching from the front seat and had seen the whole thing. Oh Jeez. I called 911, dodged another scruffy young man standing on the sidewalk, told the operator what happened. The second scruffy young man flicked his cigarette at me then walked off. After a few minutes a couple of bicycle cops came, took my description, then took off looking for the guy. They [came] back 15 minutes later, no luck. Now I’m thinking the second young man was involved somehow. But most disturbing was how no one seemed willing to come to my aid when a knife was pulled on me. I’m gonna need some time to process this. I’m OK, but [my son] was pretty shaken.

The initial police report confirms the basic details of the confrontation. Officers noted the suspect — described as a 5-foot-7 white man in his mid-2os, with blonde or light brown facial, white shoes, a black baseball and a black “puffy” winter coat — ran eastbound. (That’s uphill on Holly.) Kendall believed the man headed into an alley beyond the YMCA. He tried to photograph the suspect with his iPhone, but couldn’t get the shot in time.

Later, the owner of the Ford Focus confirmed his backpack was missing, said police spokesman Mark Young.

Anyone with tips should call the Bellingham Police Department at 360-778-8800 or the police tip line at 360-778-8611.

Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.

Wednesday, May 8

9 a.m. A British Columbia resident who had earlier been out for a walk in Blaine discovered that his wallet was missing. Meanwhile a Good Samaritan Blaine resident had found the wallet, and called police to turn it in. Officers were able to return the property to its very grateful and appreciative owner.

10:25 a.m. A resident out for a bike ride received an unwelcome cardio workout when she was chased by an aggressive barking dog near Sixth and D Street. She made it safely to her destination and called police to report her concerns. The responding officers located the offending white pit bull with black spots and its four-legged partner in crime. Both were running loose and neither appeared to be licensed. The owner was located and cited for allowing a dog to be off leash. Animal control officers were notified and will follow up on the licensing violation.

Thursday, May 9

10:09 a.m. Police were called when a resident discovered property missing from his vehicle on C Street. More than $2,000 worth of appliances and tools had been stolen from the victim’s locked vehicle while it was in storage and undergoing repairs. Officers are investigating: Several possible suspects have been identified and contacted.

Friday, May 10

8:43 a.m. A concerned passerby called police when he noticed a man crawling through an open window to get into a house on Boundary Court. Officers responded and contacted the residential gymnast. He belonged to the home, and was collecting the keys and cell phone he’d forgotten on his way out.

3:40 p.m. Police received information that a teenage boy had suffered a misdemeanor assault at the hands, and feet, of another teen on H Street. The incident was over and both parties had departed before it was reported. Officers investigated, interviewed witnesses and filed a case report recommending that the 14-year-old suspect be prosecuted.

7:53 p.m. Dispatch advised they got a call of a vehicle on fire at a truck stop service station on Boblett Street, and a minute later a second call that the fire had been extinguished. Arriving police learned that the driver had stopped at the service station not knowing that a cardboard box had gotten stuck between her pickup cab and bed and was set ablaze by the hot exhaust pipe. A passing Good Samaritan helped douse the flames and stayed to remove most of the cardboard. An officer helped the driver of the vehicle find a water hose and made certain all remnants of the blaze were drenched and cold.

8:10 p.m. A passerby spotted an industrial truck dumping fluid in to a roadside ditch and called police. An officer arrived and contacted the driver just as he was leaving. The fluid turned out to have been clean water from a separate storage tank on the truck, and was not hazardous. The vehicle owner and driver information were collected and the driver will be using a more appropriate catch basin in the future.

Saturday, May 11

7:45 a.m. Residents on a residential side street awakened to find a large expletive scrawled in garish bright letters on the pavement in front of their homes. It appeared that the suspect’s spelling was possibly as bad as their paint color preference, for the vandal had abbreviated a four-letter word. Officers responded to investigate, and identified and arrested a 34-year-old woman for malicious mischief. She was released after receiving a criminal citation to Blaine Municipal Court.

3:20 p.m. Officers contacted a resident about the very damaged former vehicle parked on Sixth Street near his home. The gentleman was apologetic about the eyesore and moved it off the public right of way.

4:30 p.m. A resident on Fourth Street noticed that her parked vehicle bumper had been marred as if struck by another car. A few days later she noticed damage on a neighbor’s car which she felt matched hers, but the driver of the other car denied having any involvement, and police were called to the scene. An officer inspected both the vehicles and is conducting follow-up.

6:15 p.m. Officers responded to a report of a robbery alarm at a commercial business on C Street. On arrival they contacted an employee of the company, who explained he had accidentally set of the alarm while setting the system. His identity and his story were confirmed by several other employees, including his boss.

Sunday, May 12

6:34 p.m. An officer attended a non-reportable collision at the off-ramp from Interstate-5 and milepost 274. The driver was traveling too fast to safely negotiate the rain-slick ramp, and his vehicle (went) off the roadway and stuck. The Blaine resident motorist was cited for driving too fast for conditions, driving without insurance and driving without a license.

BELLINGHAM — A Bellingham man must serve 18 months in prison for brandishing a metal pipe while he shoplifted $132 in alcohol from the Sehome Haggen.

Henry Lee Jackson IV, 27, pleaded guilty last week to second-degree robbery. His accomplice, Amanda L. Vanbeek, entered her guilty plea later in the week, accepting a five-month sentence for second-degree burglary. (She had been issued a trespass warning from Haggen for shoplifting in the past.)

Jackson and Vanbeek walked through the alcohol section of the grocery store on the afternoon of Feb. 26, picking out bottles of alcohol, according to charging documents filed in Whatcom County Superior Court. Jackson tucked the merchandise in his backpack.

As they walked to the exit, store security tried to stop them. Jackson threw a punch (but missed), pushed an employee down and whipped out a pipe. The two employees on security duty thought it might be a knife.

Jackson escaped by running to the Aloha Motel. Officers caught him jumping through a back window.

Vanbeek, 27, stayed at Haggen and was arrested.

Both defendants had felonies on their records. Jackson was convicted of first-degree robbery in Skagit County a decade ago, as a juvenile. Vanbeek had a history of felony theft, for a scheme where she bought textbooks from the Western Washington University bookstore with bad checks, then sold them back, unopened, for cash.

View Larger Map

A press release from Lummi Communications:

In the early morning hours of Sunday, May 12, 2013, Lummi Nation Police responded to a call of gun shots being fired in the McKenzie Housing neighborhood.   Witness accounts indicate that multiple shots were fired.  The Lummi Community was fortunate that no injuries were sustained.  The Lummi Nation Police Department and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office are conducting a joint investigation and the Lummi Police have increased patrols in and around the McKenzie Housing Neighborhood.  Any persons with knowledge regarding this incident are asked to contact the Lummi Police Department at 360-384-2266.

At the time of this post, no further info has been released. The police department referred media to Lummi Communications for further comment. I’ll update this post if I hear back from a Lummi Nation spokeswoman.

Update at 3:55 p.m. Nothing further is expected to be released today.

BELLINGHAM — Three people attacked a bicyclist late Monday, May 13, on Virginia Street, possibly because he owed them money for drugs, according to Bellingham police.

Police responded to the Sunnyland neighborhood at 10:30 p.m. when the victim, a 44-year-old Ferndale man, banged on a front door in the 2200 block of King Street asking residents to call 911, said Bellingham Police Sgt. Shawn Aiumu.

He claimed he’d been riding his bicycle in the 900 block of Virginia Street when two men and a woman got out of a car, knocked him off his bike and beat him in an alley, injuring his back. At some point, one of the men pulled out a knife and cut him on the front side of his torso, leaving him with superficial wounds, Aiumu said.

The man knows the suspects by sight and by first name. Officers are trying to figure out their identities. The car was described as a hatchback. The man’s urgent need for medical treatment at St. Joseph hospital curtailed police interviews Monday night. So more details may be released in the coming days.

Police have yet to speak with any eyewitnesses of the assault. Anyone with tips should call Bellingham police at 360-778-8800. For urgent tips after hours, call 911.

View Larger Map

BIRCH BAY — A Birch Bay woman must serve three months in jail for attacking her son with a butcher knife.

Deanna D. Vandyk, 37, was sentenced last week in Whatcom County Superior Court.

Here’s the post I wrote up in February.

The woman and her son got into an argument late Tuesday, Feb. 26, at a home in the 4500 block of Petticote Lane. The 37-year-old mom, Deanna D. Vandyk, struck him several times before letting up for a moment, said Whatcom County Sheriff’s Sgt. Larry Flynn.

But then Vandyk grabbed a large butcher knife, flew into a rage, screamed that she wanted to kill the boy and lunged forward, Flynn said. He managed to wrestle the knife from her. The teen didn’t suffer any stab wounds.

[Court records show he threw the knife into a sink.]

The boy’s grandmother witnessed the altercation. Deputies were called to the scene via 911 and a life alert. The boy had some minor injuries from the first barrage of blows, but wasn’t hurt otherwise.

Vandyk pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic violence assault, a felony. A harassment charge was dropped. She had no criminal history.

Vandyk’s son now has a no-contact order against his mom.

Roger Christensen, Bellingham’s interim fire chief, will stay on the job for another year, city officials announced in a press release Monday, May 13.

From the City:

Bellingham Interim Fire Chief Roger Christensen announced his “un-retirement” last Friday, letting his employees know that rather than retiring in June, he will be staying on for up to another year at the request of Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville.

Christensen said he and Linville decided together that, with the range of complicated public safety issues the City is involved with, the best course of action is for him to remain interim chief for another year and re-evaluate options during that time.

“I am proud to and look forward to working with you all for another year,” he told the department’s employees.

The issues Christensen is involved with include on-going Whatcom Medic One negotiations with Whatcom County and area fire districts, City Council deliberations about fireworks, consolidation of fire/EMS related services with neighboring departments, and discussions with the Whatcom County Sheriff and Port of Bellingham about collaborating on emergency management services.

Linville said she is grateful that Christensen is willing to postpone his retirement for a year. While a recent recruitment process attracted many excellent, highly qualified candidates, Linville said Christensen will provide much-needed continuity at this crucial time.

“He has extensive experience in the Bellingham Fire Department and in our community,” Linville said. “He is a skilled, capable leader and during this time of transition has continued providing high-quality, responsive and caring public safety services,” Linville said. “He is involved in many key regional issues and initiatives, and I am very grateful that he is willing to continue this important work for our community.”

Christensen was appointed Interim Fire Chief last fall to replace former Fire Chief Bill Boyd, who retired in October.

Back in January, Christensen told the Herald he didn’t plan to apply for the permanent job, instead electing to retire when the mayor found a successor.

“That could be as early as this June, or it could be next June,” he said at the time.

In a way, it looks like he got both guesses right.