Man charged in bomb threat to Point Roberts U.S. Port of Entry
Prosecutors charged a Point Roberts with five felonies related to a reported bomb threat at the U.S. Port of Entry at Point Roberts. The charges were formally filed Thursday in Whatcom County Superior Court.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers to the port of entry at 1:41 a.m. Feb. 21 for reports that Brandon Charles Brandreth-Gibbs, 34, was threatening CBP officers with an ax.
CBP said Brandreth-Gibbs arrived on foot and swung his ax at the front doors of the CBP office, causing a crack in the bulletproof glass. When he couldn’t get through the locked front doors, court records show Brandreth-Gibbs walked around to the entry door of booth one.
A CBP officer opened the sliding door to speak with Brandreth-Gibbs, and when the officer closed it, Brandreth-Gibbs allegedly stuck his foot inside.
Brandreth-Gibbs then smashed out all the windows on a CBP pursuit vehicle with the ax, according to court documents. He also threatened to build a bomb in his truck to blow up the CBP officers and government building.
The three CBP officers on duty said they all feared for their safety and believed Brandreth-Gibbs would follow through on his threat, according to court documents.
Brandreth-Gibbs walked away, returned to drive off in his truck, and then came back another time, when WCSO deputies were able to arrest him. They found the ax, a knife and a small machete along with the rest of Brandreth-Gibbs’ belongings on top of the hood of the vehicle he smashed.
An officer estimated that Brandreth-Gibbs did at least $10,000 in damage.
Brandreth-Gibbs was arrested and charged with three counts of felony harassment, second-degree malicious mischief, threats to bomb or injure property and second-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor.
Brandreth-Gibbs had previously been banned from the port of entry, and had violated the trespassing order on Feb. 7.
Brandeth-Gibbs is being held at Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond. The court has ordered a competency evaluation.