Bellingham man who kidnapped woman at gunpoint sentenced in Whatcom County
A Bellingham man who kidnapped a woman and held her at gunpoint was sentenced to more than six years in prison in Whatcom County Superior Court on Thursday.
Christopher William Zvara, 28, was arrested May 5 by the Bellingham Police Department. In the days leading up to his arrest, court records show Zvara made “numerous attempts” to contact a woman he previously knew.
He continued to threaten her until she agreed to meet him in the parking lot of an apartment complex where she was visiting a friend on May 4. When she and the friend went outside, Zvara pointed a gun at both of them and put the woman in a one-armed headlock, according to court documents.
He forced the woman into a white van, according to court documents, and was assisted by 29-year-old Margaret George Bespalova of Bellingham. The woman told police Zvara drove around, holding her at gunpoint, before eventually ending up in Bellingham’s York Neighborhood in an alley.
Zvara told the woman that “they were going to go for a walk,” court records show, and the abducted woman was able to run and call police.
Police found Zvara in Cornwall Park the next day. Zvara fled when police told him he was under arrest, and at one point pulled a gun out. Officers hit him with drag-stabilized baton rounds, after which he dropped the gun, according to police. He continued to run until police K-9 Rudy helped take him into custody.
Zvara pleaded guilty Thursday to amended charges of first-degree robbery with a firearm, two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and obstructing law enforcement. He was sentenced to 75 months in prison, followed by 18 months in community custody.
Bespalova remains in custody at the Whatcom County Jail on a charge of first-degree kidnapping. Her trial is scheduled for Jan. 12.