Technology extends the long arm of law to arrest these Bellingham burglary suspects
Two people were arrested on suspicion of burglary after a Puget neighborhood homeowner alerted to an intrusion called police, who used a tracking dog and and an aerial drone to find the suspects.
“(The victim) called to report an activation of their garage door while (the victim) was at work,” at 10:16 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, according to the Bellingham Police Department’s online activity log.
Police went to check on the home in the 4200 block of Marionberry Lane, police Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
“Officers discovered the garage was burglarized and items missing. Stolen property was located a short distance from (the victim’s) residence,” the log entry said.
A drone pilot and a canine team was called, Murphy said.
A motorized quad worth about $3,000 was found two houses away, where Siara Carrazco, 28, was arrested as she tried to climb into a neighbor’s backyard, Murphy said.
Carrazco told officers that her companion fled because there were warrants for his arrest, Murphy said.
“Destro (the dog) continued tracking, and nearby residents began to call in tips of a male running past houses,” Murphy said.
Meanwhile, the drone pilot found the suspect running along a fence at Lakeway Mobile Estates trailer park.
“Destro had tracked to the fence but had to take an alternate route around some fencing. The (drone) pilot was able to continue to monitor the fleeing suspect and kept watch as (the suspect) hid under overhanging porches. Officers surrounded the area where the pilot could see the suspect and began to call the suspect out to them,” Murphy said.
That’s when officers arrested Aaron Lee Nerkins, 31, Murphy said.
Both Carrazco and Nerkins were being held without bail at the Whatcom County Jail on Friday, Jan. 13, according to online jail booking records.
They were facing charges of residential burglary and second-degree theft.
Nerkins was being held on additional warrants alleging identity theft, car theft and trafficking, according to booking records.
