He talked her into a bite to eat, then didn’t let her leave for almost 11 hours, police say
A man reportedly held a woman he was familiar with against her will for nearly 11 hours Saturday in an abandoned house north of Bellingham before he was arrested by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
Francis Nicholas Perry was booked into Whatcom County Jail early Sunday on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, felony harassment, violation of a no-contact order, third-degree assault, fourth-degree assault, interfering with the report of domestic violence and first-degree burglary. He is being held on $50,000 bail, according to jail records.
The woman told deputies she agreed to meet with Perry at approximately 2 p.m. Saturday after he said he needed to talk, according to information provided by Chief Deputy Kevin Hester in an email Monday to The Bellingham Herald.
She told deputies Perry seemed fine and was nice to her, and he convinced her to go to a room where he was staying to eat food.
Perry and the woman went to an abandoned house on Bennett Drive behind the AM/PM on Bakerview Road. Once there, he became aggressive, threatening to kill the woman and calling her names, Hester said.
He allegedly told her to leave, then grabbed her arm and jerked her to the floor before hitting her in the back of the head with an open hand, causing her to fall into a wall.
The woman told deputies Perry then smoked methamphetamine and blew the smoke at her before becoming more agitated and paranoid. He then told the woman he was going to the gas station to get some beer, but reportedly stood nearby watching to see if she would leave.
The woman told deputies she feared she would be killed or seriously injured by Perry if she attempted to leave.
She was, however, able to send a discrete text message to a friend.
Hester said deputies had previous contact with both Perry and the woman at the house on Bennett Drive and knew that Perry had been barred from the property.
When deputies arrived at approximately 1:12 a.m. Sunday, they reportedly knocked, announced their presence and entered, locating the woman and Francis in a room off the back of the garage.
The woman was able to leave the room, Hester said, but Perry hid behind a door and refused commands to come out. Perry also allegedly gripped and bent back a deputy’s thumb as he was being handcuffed.
This story was originally published January 14, 2019 at 1:06 PM.
