Bellingham man suspected of hate crime, allegedly yells anti-Semitic slurs at neighbor
A Bellingham man is suspected of yelling anti-Semitic slurs at a Jewish neighbor in what was believed to be an effort to provoke the neighbor into a fight.
Bellingham Police booked Scott Michael Lavoie, 59, into Whatcom County Jail Friday, Nov. 5, on suspicion of malicious harassment, a hate crime. Jail records show Lavoie is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Officers were called at approximately 9 p.m. Friday to the 3100 block of Racine Street for the report of a racially motivated dispute between neighbors, according to Whatcom County Superior Court documents, and met with the victim, who informed police that he was of Jewish descent.
The victim reported that on three separate occasions Friday night while the victim was outside, Lavoie had come out and began cursing, yelling and making anti-Semitic slurs toward the victim and even performed a salute associated with Nazi Germany in the direction of the victim, documents state. The victim reportedly said he thought Lavoie was attempting to provoke him into a fight.
The victim also reported that on one occasion Friday, Lavoie threw a glass bottle at the victim, forcing the victim to take cover, according to documents.
A witness in the area told police they often heard Lavoie making racial slurs and heard Lavoie yelling about Nazis Friday evening, documents state.
When police spoke to Lavoie, they reported he appeared intoxicated and admitted to having thrown the bottle, though he said it was not at the victim, documents state. Lavoie also reportedly told police that he had not made any anti-Semitic statements, though officers noted he ranted about Nazis.
According to FBI hate crime statistics from 2019, the most current available, there were six bias-motivated incidents in Bellingham, one of which was motivated by sexual orientation and five motivated by race, ethnicity or ancestry. Six additional bias-motivated incidents occurred in different jurisdictions in Whatcom County in 2019, according to the report.
