Man who shoots self in the leg at Bellingham hotel allegedly found with 140 fentanyl pills
A previously convicted felon reportedly shot himself in the leg in a Bellingham hotel, and police found him with a five guns and 140 fentanyl pills, along with small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine.
Bellingham Police booked Dustin Tyler Owen, 34, into Whatcom County Jail Saturday, Jan. 8, on suspicion of charges including five counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Jail records show Owen is being held in lieu of $85,000 bail.
Officers were called at 12:55 a.m. Saturday to the Bellis Inn in the 3700 block of Meridian Street for the report of a man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the leg, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email. Owen was taken to St. Joseph’s hospital for treatment for the gunshot.
Officers investigated and viewed surveillance video of the incident, Murphy reported, and it showed that Owen was walking down the hallway with a backpack when he suddenly collapsed on the ground.
The video also showed a hotel employee attempt to help Owen by picking up the backpack and putting it in Owen’s room, according to Murphy, and Owen scooted along the floor into the room. A short while later, Owen reportedly returned to the hallway to wait for responding medics.
Before he was taken to the hospital, Owen told officers he had accidentally shot himself in the leg, Murphy reported, but “was less than forthcoming about where the gun went with which he accidentally shot himself.”
Medics gave police a pink bag Owen had been wearing, according to Murphy, and officers found more than $6,000 cash and multiple plastic baggies with a white powdery substance in them.
After receiving a search warrant for Owen’s room, Murphy reported that police found two long rifles, a compact rifle, a semi-automatic pistol, a Colt 45 revolver that was determined to be stolen, a large amount of ammunition, approximately 140 suspected fentanyl pills, approximately three ounces of suspected cocaine, approximately five grams of suspected methamphetamine, more than $6,000 in cash and a scale.
Owen’s arrest came one month after he was reportedly found early Dec. 7 with a Glock handgun, a shotgun, ammunition, body armor, a scale with suspected drug residue, two suspected fentanyl pills and cash after he was stopped near Sunset Square for driving a car with expired tags. Whatcom County Superior Court records show he was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in that incident.
Court records also show Owen has previous convictions for assault, possession of a stolen vehicle, attempting to elude police, possession of a controlled substance, possession of stolen property and is awaiting trial on 2020 charges for robbery, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with physical evidence.
