Tag: drugs
By Caleb Hutton
A Bellingham man suspected of having a pound of methamphetamine was booked into jail Thursday afternoon Feb. 26.
Joseph Lee Garcia, 33, was the wanted man in a SWAT operation Wednesday morning in the 4500 block of Meridian Street. Deputies, with help from federal agents, were searching for Garcia at his business, Garcia Motors, said Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo.
He wasn’t there. But the next day law enforcement caught up with him in the 2200 block of Xenia Street. Garcia was booked into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.
During an investigation that lasted several months, Elfo said, investigators found a pound of meth at a location Garcia owned or rented. The sheriff declined to go into further detail because the investigation is ongoing.
A pound of meth has a street value of about $12,000.
Garcia, considered by the sheriff’s office to be a member of the East Side Surenos gang, has past convictions for drug crimes.
By Caleb Hutton
A man wanted for drug crimes was absent Wednesday morning, Feb. 27, when a SWAT team swept an address in the 4500 block of Meridian Street searching for him.
Sheriff Elfo: SWAT response in 4500 blk of Meridian St relates to FBI search for a wanted fugitive. More details in a few hours. #Bellingham
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) February 27, 2013
More on SWAT response: Scene secure by 8:35 a.m. Part of a warrant service in ongoing drugs investigation. No word on arrests. #Bellingham
— Bellingham Crime (@bhamcrime) February 27, 2013
Witnesses reported police activity in the area for several hours. Several agencies are working together in the operation.
Nobody was arrested, but authorities got new info about the man’s whereabouts — and it’s somewhere out of the county, said Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks. So at least for now, the sheriff’s office has nothing else to release.
By Caleb Hutton
Marijuana might be legal to possess under state law starting Dec. 6, but federal authorities want to remind you nothing has changed under federal law.
Here’s the verbatim statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, sent out minutes ago.
The Department of Justice is reviewing the legalization initiatives recently passed in Colorado and Washington State. The Department’s responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. Neither States nor the Executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress. In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance. Regardless of any changes in state law, including the change that will go into effect on December 6th in Washington State, growing, selling or possessing any amount of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Members of the public are also advised to remember that it remains against federal law to bring any amount of marijuana onto federal property, including all federal buildings, national parks and forests, military installations, and courthouses.
Exactly how the feds plan to enforce the letter of the law remains to be seen. Selling marijuana will still be illegal in Washington on Dec. 6, a month after voters passed Initiative 502. The state liquor control board has a year to build a marijuana industry from scratch.
See also, this Herald story by John Stark.
By Caleb Hutton
Two American Indian tribes in Whatcom County were awarded about $1.5 million in grants to combat drug abuse this week.
Lummi Nation was given $998,500 by the Department of Justice to build low-security housing as an alternative to jail time. Residents are monitored by a GPS system. Some of the money will go toward mental heatlh therapy and job training.
The Nooksack Tribe’s grant of $465,700 will go toward curbing alcohol and drug abuse by tribal youth aged 10 to 17 in the Deming area, according to the DOJ. That money will pay for the hiring of a drug prevention worker, canoe journey curriculum and after-school programs.
Both grants were bundled into an announcement of $101 million for tribes around the country Thursday, Sept. 28.
Spokespeople for both local tribes did not return calls seeking comment.
By Caleb Hutton
The Department of Justice announced $101 million in grants to tribes around the country Thursday, Sept. 27.
Exactly $998,562 of that money goes to the Lummi Tribe for its Transitional Housing Project. The Nooksack Tribe also got $465,763 for its Tribal Youth Program. I’ve been running around all day doing other things, so look for a full story online sometime tomorrow.
For now, here’s the overview from the DOJ:
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today announced more than 200 grants to more than 110 American Indian and Alaska Native nations. The grants will provide more than $101 million to enhance law enforcement practices, and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts in 10 purpose areas including public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; violence against women; elder abuse; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs.
“Over the last several years, we’ve consulted with tribes and participated in listening sessions that provided a clear message of a need for coordination and flexibility to access our grant resources,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West. “Our outreach and communication with tribal governments have been critical to our understanding of how to better serve and support our tribal partners. These awards represent our ongoing commitment to help put an end to the unacceptable and sobering crime rates witnessed in Indian Country.”
The awards are made through the department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a single application for tribal-specific grant programs. The department developed CTAS through its Office of Community Oriented Policing, Office of Justice Programs and Office on Violence against Women, and administered the first round of consolidated grants in September 2010. It awarded 286 grants totaling $245 million in 2011 and 2012. Information about the consolidated solicitation is available atwww.justice.gov/tribal/. A fact sheet on CTAS is available at www.justice.gov/tribal/ctas2012/ctas-factsheet.pdf.
Next month, the Justice Department will hold its annual consultation on violence against native women on Oct. 2, 2012, in Tulsa, Okla. In addition, an Interdepartmental Tribal Justice, Safety and Wellness Session will be held in Tulsa, on Oct. 3-4, 2012. It will provide a Listening Session on the Tribal Law and Order Act Tribal Justice Plan Implementation Strategy and include valuable training and technical assistance.
Today’s announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
# # #
By Caleb Hutton
Here are some things that won’t make the paper, but have some news value.
According to Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks:
Kevin Andrew Davis, 27, jail booking number 219004. Davis was drinking with a former girlfriend, 23, at a Maple Place home, in the Glenhaven area. They had dated for almost a year, but broke up in April. They got into an argument, and the girlfriend locked Davis out of the house. She went into another room when she heard him kick through the door. He barged in and choked her. When he realized someone had called 911, he ran out of the house. Sheriff’s deputies caught him within Bellingham city limits and booked him into jail on investigation of first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and malicious mischief.
The next annotation is my note.
Reported: Sep 18 2012 7:33AM
Location: 100 BLK CHUCKANUT DR N
Offense: MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
Case #: 12B34914Vandals struck again at Fairhaven Park. They were unsuccessful in kicking out windows this time but did break another window and kill a wild bat that lived in the eaves.
Second time that pavilion has been targeted in a couple of weeks.
The following three cases were detailed by Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.
Reported: Sep 18 2012 4:14PM
Location: 600 BLK W HOLLY ST
Offense: ASSAULT – Felony
Case #: 12B35024Police responded to a possible assault at the above location. (V1) was found bleeding from cuts to his head and face. (V1) was heavily intoxicated and, at the time of the report, was unable to provide details of what occurred.
Still under investigation. Police are still trying to confirm this was actually an assault. Both people involved were probably very intoxicated. The injured man, 28, knows the other man well, and police know both of them well, too. Officers have not been able to confirm what happened because they have not been able to interview the injured man. Other “parties” involved have been interviewed. Police aren’t seeking help from the public in locating the other man. They know who it is and how to reach him.
Reported: Sep 18 2012 5:41PM
Location: 900 BLK LAKEWAY DR
Offense: ACCIDENT – INJURY
Case #: 12B35038An accident occured at the above location
The injuries weren’t serious. Nobody was taken to the hospital.
Reported: Sep 18 2012 8:02PM
Location: 1900 BLK KING ST
Offense: DEATH INVESTIGATION
Case #: 12B35058Officers responded to 1901 King Street on a death investigation.
Possible drug overdose in a gas station bathroom. At the time of the report, cause and manner of death were awaiting confirmation from the county medical examiner.
By Caleb Hutton
Here’s the first draft of a story that’ll probably run in Thursday’s paper.
BELLINGHAM — Police arrested two alleged drug dealers last week and hope it sends a message: They’re doing something about crime in the Roosevelt Neighborhood.
Two undercover officers spotted two known drug users chatting with the occupants of a black 1990 Honda Civic at 10:55 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, in the 2300 Verona Street, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.
When the cops approached, the two pedestrians darted away — a pretty clear sign, to the officers, that they had interrupted a drug deal. Helen Jolene Nelson, 26, a passenger in the car, “basically told the officers” she had drugs in the purse, Young said.
After getting a search warrant for the purse and the car, police claim they found:
- In the purse, 42 oxycodone pills, 30 hydrocodone pills, a gram of heroin and 0.76 grams of methamphetamine.
- In the car, 85 grams of meth (worth $4,500), 14 grams of heroin (worth $600) and more than $1,000 in cash.
Craig Aaron Rowland, 35, the driver, was arrested on suspicion of possessing the drugs in the car. Nelson was booked into jail because of the drugs in her purse. Both suspects have extensive criminal histories.
Young said police are increasing undercover patrols in the neighborhood because apartment managers and neighbors have had trouble with drug users and dealers in the area. The neighborhood has one of the highest crime rates in the city.
By Caleb Hutton
(Links go to relevant court documents and articles.)
BELLINGHAM — A third man has pleaded guilty in an attempted robbery of marijuana at Rock Hill Park.
Eric Tyler Bennett, 20, was ordered last week to serve five months in jail after he pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree robbery.
Here’s the gist of the case, from an article published Aug. 3:
BELLINGHAM – Two cousins pleaded guilty this week to slashing a man’s face with a rusty machete during a botched marijuana deal.Robert Lee Anthony Piggee, 21, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for attempted robbery in the first degree.
His cousin, 27-year-old Nicholas Gamayal Lorden, pleaded guilty to the same crime but has not been sentenced. Prosecutors suggested a prison term of three years and eight months for Lorden, who already had three felonies on his record. His sentencing is set for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 9.
According to charges filed in Whatcom County Superior Court:
In September 2011, Dylan Albrecht arranged to sell marijuana to Eric Tyler Bennett, 19, in Rock Hill Park. Albrecht walked along the park trail, as it was getting dark, with the marijuana in his pack.
He saw a man he thought was Bennett sitting on a rock. The man asked if Albrecht had the drugs. Albrecht said yes. Then two other men – later identified as Piggee and Lorden – jumped out from the bushes and demanded the backpack.
One of the men wielded a rusty machete. Albrecht fought back: He grabbed the blade and cut his hand. As one of the men tried to tear the backpack away, he slashed Albrecht’s forehead with the machete. All three men fell into a patch of blackberry bushes. Albrecht, bloodied and scratched up, escaped and ran to his car.
Albrecht was ordered in March to serve 50 days in jail for marijuana possession.
Piggee was arrested at 12:30 a.m. April 11, after an officer watched him blow through a stop sign and almost hit another car in the 2100 block of Texas Street, police said.
(…)
In their guilty pleas, Lorden and Piggee agreed to cover Albrecht’s hospital bill of $3,491.95. If he’s convicted, Bennett would have to chip in, too.
And here’s an amended probable cause statement from the prosecutor’s office, with lots more background info.
Note that Lorden’s recommended sentence of three years and eight months has since been approved by Judge Ira Uhrig. The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office noted last week that Lorden is suspected of having gang connections.
Bennett got a much lighter sentence than Lorden and Piggee. But he was convicted of a less serious “degree” of robbery, was never suspected of wielding a weapon, and had the cleanest criminal history of the trio.
By Caleb Hutton
Via police scanner traffic:
7:15 a.m. Unresponsive 19 year old at an address on Mission Road, “near the railroad tracks and Chestnut.” My best guess is that’s in Everson, but I didn’t catch any followup.
7:50 a.m. An officer was about to give a man a courtesy ride out to Grandview Road. When he radioed in the man’s name, the dispatcher told him they might have to change the route: They had probable cause to arrest him for intimidating a witness. (Jacob Steven Humphrey, 21, was booked into Whatcom County Jail about an hour and a half later. In an active Superior Court case, he’s charged with possession of meth.)
8:05 a.m. Officers doing a welfare check in the 3200 block of Lightning Bird Lane. A man and his girlfriend had been fighting all night. A 911 caller wanted to know they were OK.
8:15 a.m. “Transporting one –” a rooster is heard crowing in the background “– juvenile female.”
8:40 a.m. “Suspicious person call in Sudden Valley. Unknown person on (the caller’s) roof.” Five minutes later: “Suspicious person sounded like a legitimate contractor.”
Got pretty quiet for about an hour.
9:45 a.m. Patient on Bells Grove, in Point Roberts, was passing out and turning colors. An ambulance was sent to the scene.
10:25 a.m. Aid responding to call reporting 87-year-old woman with serious (but non-traumatic) shoulder pain.
11:45 a.m. Unconscious 30-year-old man bleeding from the mouth in the 300 block of Lottie Street, at the bus stop. “Possible domestic assault. Unknown if the scene is secure.”
Also, for anybody listening to a scanner about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday: The 100- to 200-foot fishing vessel in distress near Portage Island turned out to be a “misunderstanding,” a U.S. Coast captain confirmed this morning. Crews were dispatched, but it turned out the ship wasn’t in distress after all.
By Caleb Hutton
A meth user took apart a stolen 1997 Volkswagen Golf, then set the body of the car on fire outside a warehouse early Tuesday, July 10, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a report of a suspicious car fire at 5:16 a.m. Tuesday. They found Bradley Allen Ferris Jr., 32, of Sedro-Woolley, was squatting in a warehouse in the 3100 block of Mercer Avenue with a group of meth users, said Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks.
Inside the warehouse, it appeared someone had used a forklift to lift the Golf and picked out valuable pieces for resale, Parks said. The value of the car was about $3,500; the removed parts were worth about $1,000. Someone had taken the rest of the car and set it aflame outside.
“I don’t know why,” Parks said. ”(They’re) using methamphetamine here, so they’re not exactly functioning at a high level.”
Ferris was arrested on suspicion of setting the car on fire. Deputies found drug paraphernalia with meth residue scattered around the inside of the warehouse. They also found empty gas cans, probably used to ignite the car, Parks said.
It appeared Ferris had, at one point, been employed there. But he no longer had permission to be on the property, Parks said. Neither did the other people.
Ferris is accused of second-degree arson, first-degree possession of stolen property and possession of meth.
Another man, Robert Dee Angus, 22, was also arrested on investigation of possessing the stolen car and possessing meth.
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