Whatcom County man broke into a car and stole a handgun, police say

Ferndale Police arrested a man they suspect broke into a car Monday morning and stole a gun and the title to the car.

Aleksandr Sergeyvich Belyy, 26, was booked into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of theft of a firearm, third-degree theft and unlawful possession of a firearm. Belyy also had probable cause for his arrest for first-degree possession of stolen property and first-degree trafficking out of Bellingham.

According to information provided by Ferndale communications officer Riley Sweeney in an email Tuesday to The Bellingham Herald, police received a report at approximately 11 a.m. Monday of a vehicle prowl that occurred in the 2100 block of Jason Court.

A handgun was reportedly stolen from the vehicle, along with a title to the vehicle and some other miscellaneous paperwork.

At 12:30 p.m., Ferndale Police were called to the report of a person sleeping behind the wheel in a car parked nearby at Oxford Court and Unrein Drive, Sweeney said, and the person was identified as Belyy. As police searched Belyy to arrest him on the probable cause out of Bellingham, they reportedly found the gun from the earlier vehicle prowl in his pocket , along with the vehicle title.

According to court records, Belyy pleaded guilty to second-degree possession of a stolen property in January for an incident that occurred last November at the Western Washington Performing Arts Center and served 30 days in Whatcom County Jail, making it illegal for him to be in possession of a firearm.

Information on the latest Bellingham charges wasn’t immediately available.

This story will be updated.