A 26-year-old Ferndale man was arrested Monday for robbery and possession of a controlled substance in connection with a drug-deal-related homicide Oct. 16.
Darian J. Polee was booked into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver Monday evening.
Bellingham Police said Polee’s arrest ties back to a shooting on Oct. 16 that killed 31-year-old Isaiah Mayshack and injured 28-year-old Matthew Roberts of Eugene, Oregon. Police responded to the 2300 block of Valencia Street, where they found Roberts and began rendering aid. Mayshack, who had fled the scene, died shortly after arriving at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center by a private vehicle.
Police found a bag of 1,000 fentanyl pills, as well as two bags of cocaine on Roberts. He was booked into Whatcom County Jail and charged with second-degree murder, drive-by shooting; and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, police said.
During further investigation, Bellingham Police discovered Polee conspired with Mayshack to rob Roberts, who Polee knew was in town from Oregon with a large number of narcotics.
Polee drove and dropped Mayshack off at the 2300 block of Valencia Street, giving him instructions to arm himself with a handgun and confront Roberts when Polee returned with him, police said.
Polee then picked up Roberts and drove him to Valencia Street, where Mayshack approached Roberts, threatening him with the gun. Roberts pulled out his own gun and shot Mayshack in the chest.
Mayshack shot Roberts in the torso, then ran from the scene and was driven to the emergency room where he died.
Polee also fled the scene, abandoning his vehicle in Ferndale.
On Monday, police recognized Polee near the Silver Reef Casino in Ferndale. Bellingham Police, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Ferndale Police, Lummi Police and a Customs and Border Protection helicopter responded to the area to locate and arrest Polee.
K-9 units located Polee waist-deep and shoeless in a farmer’s manure bog, where he was arrested and taken into custody.
