Tag: gang

By Caleb Hutton

A warrant sweep dubbed “Fair Game” by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office ended with the arrest of several suspected gang members this week.

Here’s the press release from the sheriff’s office, with a full list of everyone arrested (and credit to all the involved law enforcement agencies).

One confirmed gang member, Jimmy R. Abitia, was booked into jail Thursday, Aug. 9, for failing to appear for second-degree malicious mischief.

According to the sheriff’s office, six other people with gang connections were also booked into jail on a variety of charges: Michelle C. Bogart, 42; Angela D. Hoover, 33; David C. Amador, 26; Jacob S. Humphrey, 21; Jonathan M. Rodriguez, 19; and a 14-year-old boy.

A seventh man with suspected gang connections, Nicholas G. Lorden, was booked into jail from court at the conclusion of his robbery trial.

“(A warrant sweep) is something we do on a routine basis,” said Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo.

But specific people were targeted in advance of the fair, he added.

Read this Ralph Schwartz story for background on the Northwest Washington Fair and its effort to keep out gangs. We’ll also have another story about the issue in Sunday’s paper.

And for fair measure, Fair Manager Jim Baron submitted this op-ed last week.