News Update

POSTED: Monday, Oct. 27, 2008

Bellingham man seriously injured after beating with baseball bat

BELLINGHAM - One man was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and another suffered broken bones to his face after both were struck with a baseball bat on a trail that parallels Squalicum Parkway early Saturday morning.

The two victims and another man had left the Village Inn Pub & Eatery around 2 a.m. Oct. 25, and walked into the nearby Access Comics, 3096 Northwest Ave., said Lt. Steve Felmley of the Bellingham Police Department.

The store's owner asked the three men to leave because they appeared to be intoxicated and were disorderly.

After leaving the store, all three allegedly broke the store's front window by pressing their bare buttocks against it, mooning the owner and two customers inside.

The three men then fled the scene, heading north on Northwest Avenue.

Virgil Vanduisen and Jeffrey Chapman, two customers inside Access Comics at the time, ran after them. One had grabbed a baseball bat from the trunk of his car, Felmley said.

Vanduisen and Chapman caught up with the three men several blocks from the store, on a trail that parallels Squalicum Parkway.

They both allegedly beat two of the men with the baseball bat, Felmley said. The third man escaped unharmed.

"The bat actually got broken while one of the individuals was being struck," Felmley said.

One victim, a 23-year-old Bellingham man, suffered skull fractures and cuts. He was transported to St. Joseph Hospital, where he was treated for life-threatening injuries, Felmley said. His condition is unknown, and Bellingham Police aren't releasing the names of the victims.

The second victim, a 24-year-old Bellingham man, was also taken to St. Joseph Hospital, where he was treated for fractures and cuts to his face and released, Felmley said.

Vanduisen, 42, of Bellingham and Chapman, 19, of Blaine, were arrested and booked into Whatcom County Jail on charges of first-degree assault.

The three men who allegedly broke Access Comics' window may face malicious mischief and disorderly conduct charges, Felmley said, but no charges had been filed as of 4 p.m. Monday.