He held a knife to one man’s throat and threatened to stab another, police say
A 20-year-old man reportedly held a knife to the throat of one man he didn’t know in downtown Bellingham Thursday afternoon and threatened to stab another.
Bellingham Police booked Michael William Upp into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of two counts of second-degree assault and one for possession of a controlled substance.
According to information provided by Lt. Claudia Murphy to The Bellingham Herald in an email Friday, the first victim was walking in the alley behind the 1300 block of Cornwall Avenue at about 12:11 p.m. Thursday, when he heard Upp screaming at a woman.
Upp grabbed the first victim, pushed him up against a wall and held a knife to his throat, Murphy said, while Upp reportedly continued to scream at the woman that she was going to make him go back to prison.
The first victim told police he held up his hands and was able to talk Upp into calming down and walking away, but he followed at a distance and called 911.
A second victim ran into Upp in the 1200 block of Cornwall Avenue and reported to 911 that Upp walked toward him and “got in his face,” asking the second victim why he was looking at him. Upp threatened to stab the second victim, Murphy said, though the victim said he did not see a knife.
Police responded and caught up to Upp and took him into custody without incident, and Murphy said both victims identified him as the man who had assaulted or confronted them.
During a search of Upp, Murphy said police found a small baggie with a substance that was field tested to show the presumptive presence of methamphetamine.
According to court records, Upp has previous convictions of harassment, assault and possession of stolen property from 2017 and 2018.
