Man wanted on fugitive warrants allegedly wrote bad checks at 2 Bellingham car dealerships
A Sedro-Woolley man wanted on fugitive warrants out of Maryland for prescription drug fraud, allegedly stole two cars in a week from Bellingham dealerships by writing bad checks on closed bank accounts.
Bellingham Police booked Keith Andrew Giddings, 27, into Whatcom County Jail April 8 on suspicion of two counts of motor vehicle theft, two counts of unlawful issuance of bank checks and fugitive from justice warrants. Jail records show he is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Officers were sent at 1:35 p.m. April 8 to the Whatcom County Courthouse to take custody of Giddings, who was being detained for extraditable arrest warrants from Maryland for prescription forgery, obtaining prescriptions by fraud, issuing a forged prescription and obtaining drugs by fraud, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Whatcom County Superior Court records show the warrants out of Maryland were filed July 28, 2020.
Giddings also had two warrants out of Bellingham for allegedly using bad checks to make down payments on cars, Murphy reported.
On June 8, officers responded to Rairdon’s Dodge dealership on Iowa Street, according to court documents, which reported that Giddings took possession of a 2020 Dodge Ram pickup, valued at $44,737, on May 27 by writing a check to make a $12,000 down payment.
The check was returned because the bank account was closed and the dealership’s efforts to contact Giddings were unsuccessful, Murphy reported.
On June 11, Giddings was contacted by Kirkland Police at the Rairdon Maserati dealership in Kirkland after he showed up with the stolen Dodge and attempted to purchase another vehicle, Murphy reported. He was arrested on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.
On June 2, Giddings purchased a 2017 GMC Yukon worth $29,624 from Dewey Griffin Subaru on Iowa Street, using the same closed checking account to write a check for a $10,000 down payment, court documents show.
Bellingham police were called to that dealership after that check also was returned unpaid and attempts to contact Giddings were unsuccessful, Murphy reported.
The Yukon was located in Lynnwood using the vehicle’s OnStar tracking service, according to Murphy, but Giddings was not with the vehicle.
Court records also show Giddings is suspected of stealing a 2018 Dodge Ram truck from a family member in Whatcom County on July 29, 2020, and he is scheduled to stand trial on that theft charge beginning June 28.
