BELLINGHAM - Police arrested a home-invasion robbery suspect Wednesday morning, Jan. 30, almost two weeks after a man reported he was held at gunpoint in his High Street apartment.
Eric Michael Miller, 21, turned himself in but has since refused to speak with detectives, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.
Police believe Miller and at least two other men broke into an apartment in the 900 block of High Street just before 8 p.m. Jan. 18. The 21-year-old tenant awoke on the couch to find the men's hands clamping him down, Young said. The men wore bandanas. They beat the resident, pointed handguns at him and demanded money, according to police.
They gathered up property - Young declined to say what was taken - and left the home.
Witnesses saw men wearing bandanas fleeing the scene at 8:02 p.m. They called 911. Police arrived seven minutes later to find the front door ajar.
Nobody was home. After doing what they could to investigate, officers were about to leave when they got a call from the victim, Young said. Out of fear that the men might return, he had gone to Ferndale, he told the officer. Police asked him to drive back home. When he arrived they noted he had bumps and bruises but didn't need medical aid.
From past encounters, the victim recognized Miller as one of the robbers, Young said. Miller was booked into jail at 9 a.m. Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and assault in the second degree.
Two suspects, and possibly a third, remain at large. Detectives believe the robbery was not random. Police haven't released descriptions of the men, other than the bandanas.
Tips should be directed to Bellingham Police Detective Tawsha Dykstra at 360-778-8664. After hours, call 911.
Reach Caleb Hutton at 360-715-2276 or caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com. Read his dispatcher blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/dispatcher or follow him on Twitter at @bhamcrime.
