Case dismissed against Bellingham man accused of pushing woman out of truck in 2018
After nearly two years, the case against a Bellingham man accused of pushing a woman out of a truck on a downtown sidewalk in May 2018 has been dismissed.
Justin Connors-Driftmier, 36, was charged with second-degree assault (domestic violence) on May 11, 2018, and his jury trial was set for Jan. 21. But on Jan. 22, the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the case due to insufficient evidence, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records.
The case against Connors-Driftmier was dismissed without prejudice that same day, his bond was exonerated and the no-contacted order was terminated, court records state. A case dismissed without prejudice can be reopened by the state.
Whatcom County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Richardson said that video evidence collected as part of the case was inconclusive as to whether Connors-Driftmier pushed the woman out of the vehicle, and the victim didn’t have a sufficient recollection of the events to overcome that evidence.
Richardson said there was no lesser offense that could have been presented to a jury.
While the case against him was dismissed, Connors-Driftmier said its effects on his life have been far-reaching.
Connors-Driftmier said since the case first happened, he’s lost multiple jobs and places to live, been financially burdened and has also faced other negative impacts to his life.
Connors-Driftmier said he got a call the day after the incident from a detective who told him the woman had been injured and they had video evidence that showed he pushed her out of the vehicle. Connors-Driftmier said he didn’t push her, and that he didn’t know she had been injured, as both he and the driver thought the woman had fallen after she had been removed from the vehicle.
Connors-Driftmier was arrested for assault, and he said the day after he lost his job of 3½ years. Connors-Driftmier said he also received death threats and there was lots of anger on social media.
“It was pretty hard right off the bat. ... People thought I was basically a monster. It had bad impacts on my life,” Connors-Driftmier said.
Adrian Madrone, Connors-Driftmier’s defense attorney, said he was thankful they had video evidence to determine what happened.
“The evidence did not bear out to what he was originally accused of. I think he was given the right outcome,” Madrone said.
