Whatcom deputies arrest man in drive-by shooting, attack on family member
Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a Maple Falls man in connection with a drive-by shooting that stems from a road rage incident earlier this week.
Paul Manuel Pimentel Jr., 18, was being held without bail Wednesday, Oct. 19, after he surrendered to authorities on Tuesday, Oct. 18, according to Whatcom County Jail records and a statement from Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Deb Slater.
No injuries were reported in the road rage incident on Monday, Oct. 17, but Pimentel is suspected of assaulting a family member and pointing a semiautomatic pistol at her head in a separate attack Monday morning.
Pimentel was booked on suspicion of drive-by shooting, two counts of first-degree assault — one with a domestic violence enhancement — and two counts of felony harassment, according to jail records and an email from Slater to The Bellingham Herald.
In the road rage incident, Pimental is suspected of pointing a pistol and firing a single shot toward another driver about noon Monday after a running dispute with yelling and obscene gestures that started at Golden Valley Drive and Shamrock Road north of Kendall, and ended in the 6000 block of South Pass Road, Slater said.
About four hours later, deputies were investigating an assault from earlier in the day, where the victim said Pimentel took a gun from a safe at her house, fired twice out the front door, then pushed her to the ground and pointed the gun at her head, threatening to kill her.
“While investigating this case, deputies learned information that lead them to believe that Mr. Pimentel was the subject in the previous case,” Slater said.
“On Oct. 18, deputies presented the drive-by victim with a photo lineup. The victim immediately picked Mr. Pimentel’s photo and identified him as the driver who pointed the handgun at him,” she said.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 10:56 AM.
