Lynden man suspected of hate crime and threatening apartment resident at gunpoint
A Lynden man is suspected of a hate crime after he reportedly burst into a Whatcom County apartment Friday night, threatened to kill a resident at gunpoint and used a racial slur.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office booked Jamie Dustin Fehst, 28, into Whatcom County on suspicion of felony harassment/malicious harassment and first-degree burglary Feb. 7, and jail records show he is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Deputies were called to the 400 block of River Road after the victim reported Fehst had threatened him with a gun, according to the probable cause statement provided to The Bellingham Herald by Chief Deputy Kevin Hester.
According to the statement:
▪ The victim said Fehst pushed his way into the upstairs apartment where the victim, his girlfriend and their three-month-old son were living. Fehst, who is the son-in-law of the landlord, was followed into the apartment by another person who lives on the property in a trailer.
▪ The victim told Fehst to leave, but Fehst shoved him back, reached for a handgun from the front of his overalls, pointed the gun at the victim’s face and told him, “I’m going to kill you.”
▪ Fehst tried to hit the victim in the face with the gun, but the victim managed to duck and was hit in the left shoulder. The victim attempted to use his phone to record the incident, but Fehst slapped it out of his hand, kicked items around the house and used a racial slur toward the victim several times.
▪ Fehst and the other resident left after the victim found his phone and called 911.
Deputies located Fehst on the property and arrested him without incident, Hester wrote, and a search revealed a 9mm handgun, matching the description provided by the victims.
