UPDATE: Ferndale murder suspect in Whatcom County Jail, police still seeking 2 ‘witnesses’
Miguel Angel Miranda was booked into Whatcom County Jail Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2½ weeks after he allegedly shot and killed another man outside a large gathering in Ferndale.
Miranda has been charged in Whatcom County Superior Court with second-degree murder for the Jan. 23 killing of Jose Esquivel Hernandez. A warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 26, court records show.
Miranda was arrested Jan. 28 in Phoenix, Arizona, after the car he was believed to be driving the night of the killing was spotted in Kingman, Ariz.
Since his arrest, Miranda was held in Maricopa County on a warrant for a municipal violation in Gilbert, Ariz., court records show. The warrant was issued March 1, 2021, for Miranda after he was found guilty Dec. 10, 2020, for driving with a suspended, revoked or canceled license.
As of Wednesday, Whatcom County Jail records show Miranda was back in Washington state and was booked into jail at 3:20 p.m.
Whatcom County Superior Court records have not yet been updated to show when Miranda is scheduled to make his first appearance.
In announcing Miranda’s arrest in Arizona earlier this month, the Ferndale Police Department also said it was looking for two other “witnesses” to the Jan. 23 shooting death of Hernandez. The two men were identified as Jimmy Abitia and Michael Archouletta in a news release at the time.
Investigators have not yet located Abitia or Archouletta, city of Ferndale spokesperson Riley Sweeney told The Bellingham Herald in an email, and anybody with information on those men was asked to contact the Ferndale Police Department at 360-384-3390 or contact@ferndalepd.org.
“Beyond that, the investigation is ongoing and there are no further updates at this time,” Sweeney wrote.
Shooting death in Ferndale
Police were called at 12:18 a.m. Jan. 23 to the American Legion building on Second Avenue in Ferndale for the report of a shooting at a large party, Whatcom County Superior Court documents state.
Officers arrived to find Hernandez outside the building with two gunshot wounds to his mid-torso, documents state. Hernandez was taken to St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, where he later died.
Witnesses told police that there was an altercation before Hernandez was shot, documents state.
One witness told police that Hernandez denied Miranda and two other people he was with entry to the building and that the witness and Hernandez escorted Miranda and the two others toward the parking lot, according to court documents. It was then that Miranda and the two others he was with reportedly began arguing with Hernandez.
One of the two other people told Miranda to pull out a gun and shoot Hernandez, documents state, and Miranda pulled a black handgun from his waistband and shot Hernandez. Miranda and the two others then reportedly left the area.
City of Ferndale spokesperson Riley Sweeney said he could not confirm whether Abitia and Archouletta were the two people with Miranda at the time of the shooting, saying only “They are believed to be witnesses to the shooting.”
Witnesses provided police with a photo of Miranda and identified him as the man who had shot Hernandez, according to documents.
Miranda is a known gang member, documents state, and before he was in custody, police feared that he might leave the area with family in Arizona and no permanent address in Whatcom County.
Court records show a warrant for arrest on suspicion of second-degree murder was issued on Monday, Jan. 24.
Court records also show Miranda has a previous felony conviction for first-degree criminal assistance from a 2016 drive-by shooting incident, in which court documents state he was the driver in a shooting that occurred on Haxton Way. He was sentenced to six months in Whatcom County Jail.
He also has previous juvenile convictions for malicious mischief, criminal trespassing, obstructing law enforcement and assault, court records show.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 7:49 AM.
