Bellingham man faces domestic violence charges for allegedly assaulting pregnant woman
A Bellingham man has been charged with multiple domestic violence crimes after he allegedly pushed a pregnant woman into his vehicle and assaulted her.
Gregorio Garcia-Funes, 27, was charged May 18 in Whatcom County Superior Court with unlawful imprisonment (domestic violence), felony violation of a no-contact order (domestic violence), fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) and interfering with reporting of domestic violence (domestic violence).
Garcia-Funes was released from the Whatcom County Jail May 19 on $50,000 bond, according to court and jail records. Garcia-Funes’ arraignment is scheduled for June 4.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m. on May 15, Bellingham police responded to St. Joseph’s hospital for the report of a physical domestic violence situation. A hospital security person told police they had witnessed a man pushing a woman into a vehicle while the woman was yelling and attempting to get away, according to court records.
When the hospital security person approached the vehicle, the man released the woman and she fled toward the hospital emergency room. The man, later identified as Garcia-Funes, fled the scene.
The woman, who is in her first trimester, was admitted to the hospital and told police she had been staying in a domestic violence shelter. The woman told police she needed some of her previous care records and walked toward the hospital around 8:30 p.m. that night, court records show.
Garcia-Funes allegedly pulled up next to the woman in his vehicle while she was walking along Squalicum Parkway, got out and pushed the woman inside the vehicle, court records state. Garcia-Funes also allegedly took the woman’s phone so she couldn’t call for help and ripped an access card on a lanyard off her neck, the records show.
Garcia-Funes allegedly told the woman no one would believe her if she reported his abuse and drove around yelling at the woman while she was in the vehicle, according to the records. He allegedly threatened the woman, her children and her family and then hit the woman in the stomach, court records show.
The woman told police she complained of pain and Garcia-Funes drove her back to the hospital entrance where hospital security intervened, according to court records.
During the time of the assault, Garcia-Funes’ 6-year-old child was in the backseat of the car, the records state.
There was already a current domestic violence no-contact order in place between Garcia-Funes and the woman at the time of the assault, court records show.
Resources
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, you can contact the following local resources for free, confidential support:
▪ Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.
▪ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
▪ WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/.
▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org.
▪ Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
▪ Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/
