Man suspected of pointing gun at Bellingham newspaper carrier early Tuesday
A Whatcom County driver is suspected of pointing what was believed to be a gun at a newspaper delivery woman early Tuesday in Bellingham’s Birchwood neighborhood.
The Bellingham Police Department booked Lance Ian Jefferson, 40, into Whatcom County Jail Tuesday, April 19, on suspicion of second-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. Jail records show Jefferson is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.
What-comm 911 dispatchers received a call from the victim at 2:44 a.m. Tuesday, frantically reporting that she had just had a gun pointed at her by the driver of a black Dodge Ram pickup, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
The victim reported she was delivering newspapers and noted the truck was following her for several blocks in the Birchwood neighborhood before the incident, Murphy reported.
When the victim neared Cedarwood and Pinewood streets, the truck reportedly drove past her in the opposite direction and slowed almost to a stop, according to Murphy. The victim reported it was then that the driver — a man in his 40s or 50s, who was later identified as Jefferson — reached out of the open driver’s side window and pointed a handgun directly at her from just a few feet away.
The victim reported that Jefferson had his finger on the gun’s trigger as he pointed it at her and also reported the truck’s license plates to 911, Murphy reported.
Shortly after the victim called 911, a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted the Dodge Ram near Marine Drive and Alderwood Avenue, according to Murphy. The deputy followed the truck to the 4100 block of Rural Avenue and initiated a traffic stop.
Jefferson got out of the truck and tried to get into a nearby house before he complied with the deputy’s commands, Murphy reported. A female passenger also got out.
Jefferson and the woman admitted there had been an “altercation with a car,” Murphy reported, but they initially denied a gun was involved.
Jefferson reportedly admitted there was a pellet gun in the back of the truck, but that it had not been involved in the altercation with the victim’s car, according to Murphy, before the female passenger eventually admitted that there was a gun hidden in the car.
Whatcom County Superior Court records show Jefferson has multiple previous felony convictions, including robbery, burglary, possession of stolen property, forgery and criminal impersonation, which Murphy said would make it illegal for him to have a firearm.
