Tag: domestic violence
By Caleb Hutton
A Bellingham man accused of sitting on his girlfriend, breaking her glasses and biting her face was arrested this weekend at their apartment.
Police believe Gabriel Victor Lewis, 27, came home to his apartment in the 2900 block of Alderwood Avenue after spending the evening out on the town Friday, March 1.
He got into an argument with his 23-year-old girlfriend. She tried to leave, but he slammed her down on the couch and sat on her, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young. Over the course of the assault, he allegedly took her cell phone away, broke her glasses and choked her.
She showed the cops some apparent bite marks on her face. She didn’t need immediate medical treatment.
Lewis was booked into jail about an hour after the first 911 call. He’s accused of second-degree domestic violence assault.
—
Police are still searching for a man who pushed a woman down a stairwell last week.
A woman in her 40s reported the 29-year-old man — whom she knew — pushed her down the stairs at 9:35 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, at an apartment in the 4600 block of Wade Street, Young said.
She didn’t suffer any injuries that needed treatment at the hospital, but it’s considered a felony assault.
The suspect left the scene before police arrived. Officers have probable cause to arrest the man but haven’t released his name. That might change if detectives have trouble tracking him down.
By Caleb Hutton
BIRCH BAY — A Birch Bay woman was arrested on suspicion of attacking her 17-year-old son with a butcher knife this week.
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.
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 was booked into jail just before midnight on suspicion of second-degree domestic violence assault and felony harassment, for the threats to kill her son.
By Caleb Hutton
The victim of a bizarre Bellingham stalking case asked for some leniency in the sentencing of her ex-boyfriend Thursday, Feb. 21.
BELLINGHAM – A Bellingham accountant pleaded guilty Thursday, Feb. 21, to stalking his ex-girlfriend by gluing her home’s doors shut, turning off the gas, cutting her phone and cable lines, and dumping paint remover all over her car.
…
One of her car tires got flattened with a nail in June 2011, and she found several puncture marks.
The woman called the cops later that month, naming (recent ex-boyfriend Charles Lysander Storrs IV) as a suspect, after she found someone had put a bumper sticker on her car and glued the doorknob of her house shut with super glue.
Eventually, Storrs was ordered to serve 20 days of jail alternatives and 80 days of community service for stalking, a gross misdemeanor.
I called the victim, a 57-year-old Bellingham woman, Friday morning and asked her if she thought that was fair.
She does.
Reiterating what she said in court, she said she wanted Storrs convicted of stalking, and wanted him to know she was serious, but didn’t feel compelled to ask for a huge jail sentence.
Also of note:
- They dated for about three years.
- It was a PETA sticker stuck to the bumper of her car. She works as a vet tech, so Storrs might have meant it as some kind of personal comment.
- She has turned in restitution paperwork to cover the $3,000 bill she had to pay when Storrs dumped paint remover all over her car. That act was caught on camera and clearly showed the suspect’s gait, clothes and face. She expects to get the money back.
- Part of the sentence includes a no-contact order.
BELLINGHAM — A felony assault suspect remains at large Tuesday, Feb. 19, a day after injuring a Bellingham woman by punching her in the face repeatedly.
Officers believe at 1:35 a.m. Monday, the man was visiting a 52-year-old woman in the 1700 block of Texas Street when they got into an argument.
She took several blows to the face before the man fled the scene, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young. She needed immediate medical treatment.
Police have probable cause to arrest the man for domestic violence assault in the second degree — a charge often reserved for assaults that cause serious injuries. Young said the detective hasn’t asked for public assistance in tracking down the suspect, so his name hasn’t been released.
By Caleb Hutton
BELLINGHAM — A Bellingham woman was accused of shattering the glass pane of a picture frame over her husband’s head Monday afternoon, Jan. 14.
Lisa Pattison, 33, got into an argument with her husband at 1:50 p.m. in their home on Carolina Street , said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.
The argument escalated. She picked up a 7-by-8-inch picture frame and hit him over the head, breaking the glass pane on the crown of his head, according to police. The husband had some minor injuries but didn’t need medical aid.
Photos of the evidence showed the picture frame was empty, aside from the shards of glass, Young said.
Pattison was booked into jail on suspicion of domestic violence assault in the fourth degree. She was released Tuesday morning after promising to show up for her next court date.
Posted by Caleb Hutton
Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.
Monday, Dec. 24, 2012
10:04 p.m. A customer visiting a closed business on Boblett Street was sliding his payment under the door when he realized that the door was unlocked, and the dark premises were unsecured. He called police, who responded to check the building. The door was unlocked but the very good alarm system was active and set off a cacophony as soon as the door was opened. Officers checked the interior and did not find anything obviously amiss, then remained onsite until a business call-out could respond to secure the building.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012
2:22 a.m. Early on Christmas morning dispatchers advised Blaine police that a woman had telephoned from a residence on F Street screaming for help. The call taker heard sounds of a man kicking in a door and then the phone line went dead. The suspect attempted to flee on foot but was detained by an arriving police officer. The victim had not been physically harmed but was very frightened. She told police that she was staying at her friend’s apartment when the man, whom she had once dated, arrived outside, threatened to kill her if she did not let him in, and then kicked down her front door. The intoxicated 33-year-old suspect became enraged when arrested. He had to be placed in restraints when transported to jail, where he was booked for residential burglary, malicious mischief, and harassment, all involving domestic violence. U.S. Border Patrol agents assisted on the call.
7:09 p.m. Police were dispatched to a 911 hang up at a D Street home on Christmas evening. Officers arrived and found a family holiday gathering in progress. Children at the party might have taken the phone off the hook.
Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012
2:35 p.m. An officer spotted a vehicle traveling almost 20 mph over the posted speed limit on H Street and stopped the driver. It turned out that the lead-footed motorist was also driving in violation of a Washington license suspension that was imposed when he failed to take care of a speeding ticket he received in Everett in 2010. The British Columbia resident was issued a criminal citation for driving with a suspended license and an infraction for today’s excessive speed. His wife was legally licensed, and drove his pickup from the scene.
Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012
1:17 p.m. A woman reported that a man driving a car that looked liked a white colored Toyota Camry had exposed himself to her, demonstrating a one-person sex act, when she walked past his parked car in a parking lot on H Street. The victim called police immediately, but the suspect left the area and was not located.
Friday, Dec. 28, 2012
8:37 a.m. Police monitored that North Whatcom Fire was in route to a residential structure fire on Blaine Avenue when they received a call of an activated general fire alarm at a home on 16th Street. A Blaine officer responded to the 16th Street address to check that scene, and met an alarm company consultant there. He was working on the system and accidentally tripped the alarm. The officer notified fire units of the contact and they concentrated their efforts on the fire on Blaine Avenue. False alarm report generated.
1:46 p.m. Employees at a business downtown called police when a older, infirm looking gentleman wandered in and out of the premises, seeming a bit disoriented. An officer located him nearby, trying to talk strangers into giving him a ride. The 84-year-old Canadian citizen lives with family in Abbotsford and decided to hitchhike to Bellingham to shop for car insurance. His family was thankful for a phone call explaining that Dad was safe, and getting a police car ride up to Canadian Customs to wait for his relatives.
Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012
6:25 p.m. An officer responding to a drug investigation near the Peace Arch found an injured seagull sitting in the emergency access lane to the border crossing. The officer stopped and removed the injured bird from the roadway, and contacted the Whatcom Humane Society to respond and care for the animal. A humane society officer arrived a short time later and took the bird under wing.
Monday, Dec. 31, 2012
10:33 a.m. Officer was dispatched to a residence in the 700 block of F Street on a complaint from a resident who was being harassed by other tenants who were calling her names. The suspect tenants were contacted and denied calling the other any names, and were warned about violating harassment laws.
6:45 p.m. Motorists waiting in heavy, northbound New Year’s Eve traffic on the truck route called 911 to report that other vehicles were committing violations such as illegal lane changes, line cutting, wrong-way driving, speeding and “just horrible” maneuvers. It was a jungle out there. An officer plunged into the mix and issued six citations in two hours for a variety of violations closely mirroring the callers’ complaints. The officer left the area when the traffic was clear.
7:20 p.m. A motorist reported that a vehicle passed her in a no-passing zone on H Street, and she believed the person might be under the influence of alcohol because the offending driver was holding a bottle of something that looked like beer. Officers searched for the vehicle, but could not find it.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013
9 p.m. A trucker unhooked a trailer from his tractor in a truck stop parking lot on Boblett Street. The business asked him to move it but he refused he did not own the trailer. The employees called police, and when officers arrived he changed his story, admitted the trailer was his and said he would collect it in the morning. The truck stop workers declined the business and, at their request, officers advised the driver to hook up his trailer and leave the property. They told him he would be arrested for trespassing if he returned. The truck hooked up the trailer and drove away, but returned an hour later and parked in the back of the lot. Officers again responded, and this time arrested the trucker for trespassing.
By Caleb Hutton
Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.
Tuesday, Dec. 4
3:50 p.m. Police were dispatched to the 1500 block of D Street on a report that four people were using drugs in a car by an apartment complex. An officer arrived and found three young men in the suspect vehicle. It appeared they had indeed been smoking a hallucinogen, but there was not enough of the product left for testing. The trio’s used paraphernalia was destroyed.
7 p.m. During an argument at a home on Golden Eagle Drive, a man decided to demonstrate his state of mind by swallowing fistfuls of prescription medication in front of his wife. He lost consciousness shortly afterwards, and dispatch was giving the woman telephonic instructions on how to perform CPR when police officers and medics arrived at the house. The man was revived and transported to hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Friday, Dec. 5
12:23 a.m. An intoxicated man and his more intoxicated brother left a bar downtown after midnight, and staggered back towards their boat in Blaine Harbor. They made it as far as Peace Portal and Marine Drive before the more inebriated man attacked and began beating on his sibling. He may have started the fight, but he was unanimously declared the loser by the police officers and medics who arrived to clean up the mess. The bleeding, violent 21-year-old man from Neah Bay was transported to hospital by medics, accompanied by a police officer who helped restrain him to his gurney to keep him from destroying the ambulance. He faces prosecution for fourth-degree assault and other violations.
3:25 p.m. School officials called police when they learned that a student who was not on campus had posted comments on a social networking site indicating that he might harm himself. Officers located and interviewed the young man. He was physically fine, and explained the purpose of his admittedly inappropriate internet activity. The young man received a warning and the school and his parent received a phone call from the officers explaining the results of their investigation.
Friday, Dec. 7
3 a.m. An officer on patrol about 3 a.m. spotted a person walking away from the railroad tracks near Clyde Street. The walker lacked a hard hat, safety glasses or any other pieces of safety gear that railway employee generally carry. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived to interview the man and found that he had possibly illegally entered the country via the railroad tracks, and he
was taken into custody by the agents.
9:10 p.m. U.S. Border Patrol Dispatch reported a person at Peace Arch Park was jumping the border from the United States into Canada. A Blaine officer was called but arrived too late to intervene in the subject’s hasty departure from the country. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police advised later that they had caught up with the man, and found that he was a Canadian citizen. He had set out from home in Canada but had gotten disoriented and bolted for home when he realized he strayed across the border.
9:40 p.m. A Blaine officer assisted Border Patrol Agent contacting three suspicious people walking south from the Canadian border along the truck route north of H Street. The trio turned out to be US citizens who had wanted to go to Canada, but they were too intoxicated so border officials denied them entry.
Saturday, Dec. 8
7:30 a.m. Royal Canadian Mounted Police in White Rock called Blaine Police when they heard what sounded like gunfire to the south of their fair city. An officer checked the area where most shootings occur, but did not locate the suspects. The RCMP were advised that it is duck hunting season here and the hunters often float offshore just outside the city limits west of Semiahmoo Spit.
Sunday, Dec. 9
1:34 a.m. An officer saw what appeared to be an unoccupied parked vehicle at a gas pump downtown. As he approached the car the driver who had been slumped down in his seat sat up and started to honk the car’s horn. That’s a classic, if melodramatic, way for a lookout to alert his accomplice that the police have arrived, but if something was afoot nearby it fled before doing the deed. The driver claimed the horn honking was accidentally and he was waiting to meet a friend who was detained at the border. Car and driver left the area a short time later.
Monday, Dec. 10
12:20 a.m. A parent on Cedar Street called police shortly after midnight when she spotted a possible runaway teenager in her back yard. Officers arrived, searched the area and found the girl hiding in another yard nearby. The 17-year-old girl was indeed a runaway, and also was wanted on a felony warrant in Snohomish County. She was arrested and booked into detention.
Posted by Caleb Hutton
Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.
[Editor's note: Crimes came in pairs this week in Blaine: A couple of DUIs at the border, a couple of counterfeit bills, a couple of attempted illegal border crossings, etc., etc.]
Tuesday, Nov. 20
10:31 a.m. A woman and her adult daughter were threatened by an adult relative who chased them through the family home on Dunlin Court during a domestic dispute. The women took refuge in a bedroom and closet, and called police for help. Officers responded, made the scene safe and investigated. The 46-year-old man involved was arrested.
4:23 p.m. A high-voltage electrical line problem tripped Blaine City Light’s protective circuits, and the lights went out on Georgia Street and most of town. While a utility crew isolated and repaired the problems, police provided traffic control at intersections where the signals had failed and checked on darkened businesses. One resident was at risk because she had no backup supply for her home oxygen system which required house current. Blaine’s Auxiliary Communications Service team responded with a portable generator to help the lady during the outage. Power to most of the city was restored within the hour.
5:10 p.m. Police were leaving a call at a multifamily housing complex on B Street when a smoke alarm sounded from an upstairs unit. An officer contacted the apartment’s lone resident and found that the elderly lady had decided to take a nap when her building’s power went off. Unfortunately when as nodded off she forgot about the meal she’d been cooking on the stove when the power failed. She was fast asleep when the lights, and the stove, came back on, so dinner’s charcoal remains and the police at her door were garnish to her rude awakening in a smoke filled apartment. The officer helped her turn off her appliances and ventilate the unit.
5:45 p.m. A couple contacted an officer at the police station to report that their family’s cat was missing from its home near Boblett and Fourth Street. They described Ben as a large, overweight friendly 10-year-old orange-and-white striped creature. He was normally very good about not venturing far from the family’s doorstep. All officers were advised of the watch-for for their patrols, and for the next several days they kept an eye out, without success. Finally, five days after his disappeared, Ben showed back up at home, looking a little lean and smelling of must and fuel. Ben’s owner suspects the car got locked into someone’s garage over the Thanksgiving weekend.
8 p.m. A business on H Street counted the day’s receipts, found a counterfeit $10 bill, and called police. The employees had no idea who passed the fake note. An officer confiscated the item and forwarded it to the Secret Service.
Wednesday, Nov. 21
4:59 p.m. A business called police to report a fight in progress aboard a bus in their mall parking lot. Police and U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived and determined that no assault had occurred. The ruckus turned out to be a bunch of young passengers yelling at each other aboard a party bus.
9:30 p.m. A business reported they were counting the cash at the end of the day and found a counterfeit $20 bill in their receipts. The employees did not know who passed the counterfeit bill, and an officer confiscated it for the Secret Service.
Thursday, Nov. 22
11:05 a.m. Police were dispatched to a report of two boys fighting on Eighth Street. An officer arrived to find 12- and 9-year-old brothers walking down the street. They admitted to horsing around, but were not actually fighting.
11:40 p.m. An officer backed U.S. Border Patrol agents an unknown person attempted to drive across the border at Harvey Road, then fled northbound after the vehicle got stuck. Royal Canadian Mounted Police initiated a search for the suspect, and Border Patrol agents impounded the vehicle.
Friday, Nov. 23
12:05 a.m. U.S. Customs officers reported they were questioning a person who drove up to a primary booth to gain entry into the United States. While a Customs officer was questioning the driver he noticed signs of the driver being under the influence of alcohol. The driver was brought into secondary inspection, where a Blaine Police Officer met with the motorist, who failed field sobriety tests. The 31-year-old Federal Way resident was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and booked into jail.
8:17 p.m. Police officers assisted U.S. Border Patrol field agents with a report that three border jumpers had entered the United States near Sixth and A Street in Blaine. The trio split up when they crossed, but all were quickly and peacefully captured within a block of their point of entry.
Saturday, Nov. 24
9:40 p.m. An officer stopped a vehicle on Adelia Street for a traffic violation and spotted a large open bottle of liquor in the back seat of the vehicle in plain view. The three people in the vehicle were all teenagers, and the driver was arrested for being a minor in possession of alcohol, cited and released. The officer also discovered a large amount of marijuana in a backpack that belonged to a back seat passenger. That youth was arrested and booked him for possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver.
Sunday, Nov. 25
1:05 a.m. A resident reported that her husband had been beaten up by his nephew in law during a domestic dispute. An officer arrived to find that the suspect had already fled the area. The nephew was later located by police and arrested for simple assault involving domestic violence.
Monday, Nov. 26
3:39 a.m. U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped a vehicle regarding suspicious activity near the border. While the agent was interviewing the driver he noticed the man might be under the influence of alcohol, and he requested Blaine police attend. An officer arrived to investigate and found the agent’s concern was justified. The motorist was arrested for driving under the influence and booked in to jail after processing.
3:09 p.m. Officer received a request to contact a person on G Street who wanted to report some harassing phone calls. Officer arrived and listened to the phone calls and found none of them threatening or harassing. It was unsure when the calls were made and the complainant was unable to provide suspect information except a possible name.
Tuesday, Nov. 27
8:33 a.m. A person reported that while he was away on a commercial crabbing vessel, someone “keyed” every panel on his truck, resulting in an unknown dollar amount of damage. There are no suspects in this case. The reporting person requested a report for insurance purposes, which was provided.
Posted by Caleb Hutton
Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.
Wednesday, Nov. 7
1:57 p.m. A resident on Mitchell Street called police to report that an apparent vandalism incident had left a large gaping hole in an nearby homeowner’s fence. An officer checked the property and found that no damage had occurred. It was not vandals gnawing on the neighborhood, but rather the very large opening created by the fence’s owner opening a very large gate.
2:29 p.m. A woman contacted police to express her displeasure with the work that a mechanic had done making repairs to her car, and alleged that the vehicle was damaged while in the shop. When she was advised that there was no evidence of a crime, the lady asked for and received contact information for the Whatcom County civil court. Case closed.
Thursday, Nov. 8
3:05 p.m. The manager of a store on H Street chased a shoplifter who fled the store, and caught him out in the parking lot. Police responded to the 911 call and arrested the 17-year-old thief for shoplifting and being a minor in possession of alcohol, for the big bottle of whisky he’d whisked from the market. The young man’s parents were out of the country on holiday for the week and had left their teenager in charge of the family home. He was summarily demoted to captive, and released to the custody of an adult family friend pending an appearance before the juvenile court, and his folks.
Friday, Nov. 9
9:18 a.m. A woman reported her that her adult son’s Xbox 360 was stolen from a home that he was moving from after house sharing with some other folks. The victim’s father had spoken with all of the tenants, and all claimed innocence. Mom completed a stolen property statement indicating that she would assist in a prosecution and the game console was entered into law
enforcement databases as stolen property.
10:45 a.m. A woman called police for assist when she and her soon-to-be ex-husband began arguing about their child visitation schedule. The couple are still sharing their co-owned home, and don’t have a parenting plan nor court orders in effect, so things are a little tense. An officer responded to the residence to keep the peace while the wife prepared to leave for the weekend.
Saturday, Nov. 10
5:58 p.m. Officers responded when a small child called 911 for help from a house on Runge Avenue. They arrived to find an adult woman who’d suffered injuries when she was attacked by the child’s father. Medics were called to the scene to evaluate the victim, and police arrested the 38-year-old man who had beaten and choked her. The man was booked into jail for felony assault involving domestic violence.
Sunday, Nov. 11
10:03 a.m. A property management company called public works employees when tenants experienced problems with their sewer system on Peace Portal Drive. The public works supervisor called police when he traced the problem to a vandalized lift pump station. Someone with more brawn than brains had cut the lock off the control box and turned off power to the pump equipment. The pump was re-energized and the box secured.
Monday, Nov. 12
4:28 p.m. Customs and Border Protection at the Peace Arch reported a man and woman traveling together in a car with their two children. The couple had previously filed for divorce and a restraining order was issued by the Snohomish County Superior Court as part of the dissolution process. The wife was listed as the petitioner and husband as respondent. The couple had patched things up but had never re-addressed the restraining order. An officer reviewed the order and found that the husband was not in violation of any provisions in the order. The couple was advised to straighten out their paperwork in civil court to prevent future misunderstandings.
By Caleb Hutton
A Bellingham man suffered a gash to his cheek early Sunday, Nov. 11, when his girlfriend attacked him with a 6-inch serrated kitchen knife, police said.
Rosalie Johnson, 18, was arguing with her 27-year-old boyfriend about 2 a.m. at their apartment on Sterling Drive when she picked up the knife and cut him across the cheek, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.
She ran outside. Police dogs tracked her to the nearby Sears parking lot.
Johnson was booked into jail on suspicion of domestic violence assault in the second degree. Court records show she has a history of domestic violence.
Young said the boyfriend’s wound was superficial, so he didn’t need to go to St. Joseph hospital.
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.