Driver had a pistol during this Bellingham traffic stop
Bellingham Police arrested a man wanted on several outstanding charges after he was detained on a traffic stop earlier this week.
Dustin Tyler Owen was being held without bail in the Whatcom County Jail, where he was booked Thursday, March 23, on suspicion of illegally possessing a firearm and a drug charge from 2022, according to online records.
Owen was stopped near the Bakerview Road exit from Interstate 5 as an officer saw him make a left turn without signaling then change lanes without signaling, said Lt. Claudia Murphy.
“As the officer was speaking with Owen, the officer saw the bottom of a handgun magazine between the driver seat and the console. He also noted Owen was wearing what appeared to be a leather holster,” Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
“Owen was detained and eventually admitted he was in possession of a firearm,” she said.
Drug-packaging materials were visible in the car, so the officer had a police dog sniff around the outside of the car, where it “alerted” to narcotics and officers seized the car to get a search warrant.
Owen was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm because he is a felon and was on bail for a weapons offense, Murphy said.
Later Thursday, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office added several charges to Owen’s online booking notice, including first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, another drug charge, and attempting to elude a police vehicle.
Bail was set at $100,000 on the weapons charge, $90,000 and $50,000 on the drug charges, and $5,000 on the assault charge.
No bail was allowed on the robbery and eluding charges.
