Authorities arrest two Whatcom County men with more than half a pound of Fentanyl
Authorities arrested two Whatcom County men in Ferndale with more than half a pound of Fentanyl in their vehicle, according to Roger Funk with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to a welfare check of a person slumped over in the driver’s seat of a vehicle on Sunday, Nov. 26, in the 1800 block of Slater Road in a fish and wildlife parking lot off the main road.
Bellingham Police Department Special Emergency Response Program was called in to field test the substance found in the vehicle.
Deputies obtained a search warrant and found 325.5 grams of Fentanyl and 2 grams of methamphetamine on the driver, 27-year-old Nicholas Donath. Deputies also found a handgun. Donath reportedly brandished a baton in front of deputies.
Donath was arrested and faces pending charges related to weapons, obstruction a law officer and possession with intent to deliver. He was no longer in custody as of Tuesday morning.
The passenger, Giovanni Orrantia-Pieper, 25, was arrested for several outstanding arrest warrants, including second-degree theft, hit and run on a attended vehicle and fourth-degree assault. He remains in custody at Whatcom County Jail.
This story was originally published November 28, 2023 at 10:00 AM.
.jpg)