Bellingham man who stabbed and killed man on trail, assaulted two others, sent to prison
A Bellingham man who stabbed another man to death and assaulted two others during a random crime spree in Bellingham’s Puget neighborhood in early October 2018 will spend more than three decades in prison for his crimes.
Jesse Rene Reyes, 35, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, second-degree assault and fourth-degree assault on Tuesday, May 12, in Whatcom County Superior Court. He was also sentenced to 31 years in prison, which includes two additional years for committing the murder with a weapon.
Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Richey asked Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Rob Olson to sentence Reyes to the maximum time allowed, which would have been nearly 34½ years.
Richey said that all the attacks, which happened minutes apart, were unprovoked and committed without remorse. Richey said while Reyes was evaluated by a local mental health expert, and some conditions found may have helped lead to the crime spree, Reyes’ actions were not the result of mental health issues.
“This is something absolutely shocking, something that’s different from what we’ve seen,” Richey said, speaking of the randomness of the attacks. “Whatever caused Mr. Reyes to commit these crimes, he is a danger to our community.”
The crime spree
Shortly after 11 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2018, Reyes walked up and began repeatedly punching then 18-year-old Madeleine Pipitone in the head while she was at a small restaurant on Lakeway Drive.
Reyes then fled on a bicycle toward Carl Cozier Elementary, where four minutes later he encountered then 50-year-old Charles Garrett. Reyes knocked Garrett to the ground and hit and kicked him. Garrett was taken to St. Joseph’s hospital where it was discovered he suffered a brain bleed in the attack.
Roughly 10 minutes after beating Garrett, Reyes found 71-year-old Donald T. Alderson riding his bike on a trail behind the Haskell Business Center. Alderson was on his way to breakfast with friends. Reyes stabbed Alderson 34 times with a knife, killing him.
Reyes was found later in the 1800 block of Texas Street, wearing a blood-soaked sweatshirt.
A loved one lost
Alderson’s decades-long girlfriend Mayrus Helberg said Alderson loved riding his bike. She said on the morning of the attack, he had waited to ride until it warmed up outside, and that he chose to wear a red coat — two things she says made it possible for him to be in Reyes’ path.
Helberg told the court she and Alderson had celebrated their 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays together, and said they should have had a couple more decades. She said since Alderson’s death she’s had trouble sleeping, lost her sense of well-being and it takes great effort to do small things. Helberg said she no longer rides her bike, or walks the trails — both integral parts of the life she shared with Alderson.
“No number of years in prison can make up for what happened to him. No number of years is fair,” Helberg said.
Alderson’s daughter, Kelli Dizmang, said she vividly remembers the night police came to her door to tell her of her father’s attack. She said she later had to explain to both her young children what had happened to their grandfather.
“At 4 and 6 years old, my children learned that ‘bad guys’ is not just a silly game you play,” Dizmang said.
Dizmang said she loves to run, but it’s taken her nearly a year to be able to run even short distances by herself. She said she no longer has the same peace she had before her father’s murder.
“He had quite a long time left to live. … He didn’t just take my dad’s life on Oct. 6, 2018. He took a life away from everyone who loved my dad,” Dizmang said.
Nicola Alderson, Alderson’s second daughter, said she had every reason to believe her dad, who was healthy, would be around for at least the next 20 years. She said that just a few months before her father’s death, she had lost a close friend in a plane crash, and thought that was the most tragic thing that could happen. But after her father’s death, her world turned upside down.
“It doesn’t make any sense that my family or I should have to ever have known Jesse Reyes’ name. … This day will forever alter the trajectory of my life and my family’s life. His name will be with us until the day we die, and it’s the one name we wish we could erase,” Nicola Alderson said.
Jeff Jones, Helberg’s son, said in a statement read for him in court that he no longer trusts people to do the right thing, and that anyone can bring harm to him and his loved ones. He said his mother has been devastated by the loss of Alderson, and that it’s left a crater of sorrow in her life.
“He took … her rock, and the person she has shared a life with the past 20 years. Now all she has is Don’s dog,” Jones said. “Don deserved a lot better, and so does my mom.”
Random attacks
Pipitone said in a statement read for her that in her first two weeks of living on her own as a college freshman, she didn’t expect to take 10 punches to the head. After Reyes’ attack, she said she suffered a concussion for nearly a month after, and had a hard time making friends because she couldn’t leave her dorm room.
Pipitone said it’s hard for her to go to the grocery store, because she just remembers the attack, and that the guilt she’s felt over the past year has been indescribable. She said she hoped for closure at Reyes’ sentencing, so she can put the incident behind her.
Garrett said he was in Bellingham with his family because his children were competing in a swim meet at the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center. He said between swim sessions, he went on a walk around the nearby school, where he encountered Reyes.
He said at first his absence wasn’t noticed and his children kept swimming, but at the end of his daughter’s last swim, she emerged from the pool crying because she knew something was wrong. Garrett said he hasn’t been the same father since the attack.
Garrett said Reyes was riding his bicycle and before assaulting him, only said “You’re the one.” Garrett said after he returned home from the hospital, he suffered daily headaches, had difficulties finding words and with memory and executive functions. He said the attack also ended his aviation career, and his children no longer swim.
He said the emotional and mental impacts run deep and can only be described as fear.
“This unprovoked, sudden and senseless act changed my life. It changed my family’s life. I went from fearless to a life of fear,” Garrett said. “I’m trying my best to not give in to that life of fear, but it’s hard.”
‘Not a monster’
Reyes’ criminal defense attorney Court Will said Reyes was “extremely remorseful” and offered his sincerest apologies to the victims and their families for his actions.
Will asked the judge to take into consideration that Reyes was pleading guilty, and not putting the victims and family members through the trauma of a trial.
“Yes this was a shocking crime, there’s no way around that and we acknowledge that. But what murder is not? A murder is a shocking crime,” Will said.
Will said Reyes does not have a history of serious violent crimes and has people that love him. Will said that Reyes has good in him, and wants to become a better person.
“He is paying an extremely steep price with his guilty plea and sentence,” Will said.
Will said while the prosecution was dismissive of Reyes’ possible mental health issues, the reports from the experts, including one hired by the defense, should be taken into account. Will said Reyes possibly attacked the three victims because they had with them or were wearing something red. Will said Reyes suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident before the October events, and that he believes Reyes was suffering from mental health issues at the time of his actions. Will said while it doesn’t excuse Reyes’ actions, it helps to explain them.
Will asked the judge to sentence Reyes to 26¼ years.
Reyes’ sister, Veronica Torres, apologized to the victims and their families on behalf of her brother. She said just as they were shocked, Reyes’ family was too. She said while the sentence given to him won’t bring Alderson back, Reyes is owning up to his actions.
“It hurts for what he did,” Torres said. “My brother is not a monster.”
Reyes declined to speak at his hearing.
Before sentencing Reyes, Olson apologized to the victims and their families.
“These were acts of random violence, which is perhaps the most terrifying to the community at large because there is no way for a victim to possibly anticipate the danger and avoid it,” Olson said.
