Man suspected in burglary of Whatcom home, stealing guns and threatening woman if she left
An Anacortes man is suspected of breaking into a Whatcom County home, stealing multiple guns from a gun safe and reportedly was found at another home in Ferndale with a stolen car and a woman he had threatened to kill if she tried to leave.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, March 23, booked Cameron James Bielman, 28, into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful imprisonment, harassment, possession of a stolen vehicle and theft of a firearm.
At approximately 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, deputies were called to the report of a burglary in progress in the 4800 block of Northwest Drive, after neighbors, knowing the homeowner was not home, reported seeing three men inside the home, according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post on the arrest Thursday, March 24.
When they arrived at the home, deputies found that it had been broken into and a large amount of property had been stolen, according to the post. Included among the property believed to be stolen were more than 10 guns from a gun safe that had been pried open.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Ferndale Police were called to a home in the 2300 block of Douglas Road to attempt to recover a vehicle that had been reported stolen from Oak Harbor, the post read. Though the Oak Harbor Police Department did not have probable cause to arrest him, it was believed that Bielman was responsible for the vehicle theft, according to the sheriff’s office Facebook post.
Ferndale Police located the stolen car at the Douglas Road home, according to the post, and spotted a shotgun on the driver’s seat. Law enforcement confirmed with the Northwest Driver homeowner that the serial number of the shotgun matched one of his stolen guns, and police reportedly saw other stolen property within the vehicle.
Deputies were granted a search warrant for the Douglas Road home, and the sheriff’s office SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams served it at 7:30 a.m., according to the post.
After 20 minutes of negotiations, Bielman exited the home and was arrested without further incident, the post reads.
A woman also was found in the home, according to the post, and she told deputies that Bielman had threatened to kill her if she tried to leave, though she was able to leave when Bielman fell asleep.
The woman was uninjured and had arrived the evening before, sheriff’s office spokesperson Deb Slater told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Slater said the case remains active, so she could not disclose whether the sheriff’s office has identified the other two men who reportedly were involved in the burglary on Northwest Avenue or if all the guns had been recovered.
Initial estimates for the property stolen from the Northwest Avenue home were $4,000, Slater reported, but said that amount was likely to rise as the investigation continued.
Court records show Bielman has previous convictions for identity theft, forgery, residential burglary, criminal impersonation and malicious mischief in Skagit County and a conviction of taking a motor vehicle without permission from 2014 in Whatcom County.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 1:08 PM.
