Bellingham police use drone to find DUI suspect who faces felony eluding charge
Bellingham police employed a drone to track down a man suspected of driving under the influence while attempting to elude police vehicles.
Officers first spotted Christopher D. McCullough, 39, while on patrol near Julianna Park in the Cordata neighborhood. They watched as he got out of a truck in the parking lot, walked over to a Jeep and left in the Jeep heading west on West Horton Road, according to Lt. Claudia Murphy with the Bellingham Police Department.
One officer followed the Jeep as another looked in the truck. The officer reported that the truck contained drug paraphernalia and paperwork with McCullough’s name on it. The truck also came back as being registered to someone with the last name McCullough, Murphy told The Herald.
The officer following the Jeep noted the driver was swerving in the road and crossed the shoulder and center line multiple times, Murphy said. The officer turned on high lights to pull over McCullough, but he ignored them and attempted to elude the police vehicle.
McCullough soon drove off the road and into some blackberry bushes in the 4900 block of Aldrich Road. McCullough got out of the car and left the area on foot, according to Murphy. Police used an unmanned aerial system (UAS) to locate McCullough in blackberry bushes.
Officers told McCullough to give up and come out of the bush, but he ignored them. Eventually officers were able to make contact and take the suspect into custody, Murphy said.
He was arrested on suspicion of attempting to elude a police vehicle, a class C felony. He was also arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, driving under the influence and violation of an ignition interlock, as he is required to have an ignition interlock device on his vehicle by the Department of Licensing.
Murphy said the Jeep he was driving did not have an ignition interlock device.
McCullough has been charged with attempting to elude a police vehicle, a class C felony. He was also charged with driving while under the influence, a gross misdemeanor.
.jpg)