A 41-year-old Bellingham man was arrested overnight Thursday, Jan. 23, in connection to a bomb threat made at Bellis Fair mall four months ago.
Bellingham police responded to a call of a bomb threat at 5:34 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Bellis Fair, said Claudia Murphy, a spokesperson for the Bellingham Police Department. The caller said a bomb would go off within 10 minutes and then hung up without providing extra details.
Officers and mall security searched the building for anything suspicious but didn’t find anything, Murphy said.
During the investigation, officers found that the suspect had borrowed a phone and placed the call to 911, Murphy said. Officers believe the suspect made the call because he saw a patrol car in the parking lot of Fred Meyer, near his drug dealer. The call was meant to divert attention and have the patrol car leave.
Early Thursday, around 1:30 a.m., the suspect was pulled over during a traffic stop in the 4100 block of Bennett Drive, Murphy said. The officer recognized the suspect as a passenger and he was subsequently arrested on an outstanding warrant related to the case.
Probable cause was established for threats to bomb or injure property. The suspect was booked into the Whatcom County Jail around 3:30 a.m. with additional probable cause of shoplifting.
Threats to bomb or injure property is a class B felony in Washington, punishable with up to 10 years in prison.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
