Sheriff’s office: Whatcom man beats teen for stealing gun

A 54-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were arrested after they held a teenager against his will and beat him for stealing a gun from a home near Lynden, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.

Larry George Whitman, 54, and a boy, 17, allegedly punched, choked, kicked and ripped jewelry off another 17-year-old boy on Sunday, Dec. 13. They then told the victim to strip naked and get into a freezer containing rotten food before dousing him with a garden hose, according to the sheriff’s office.

When deputies arrived at Whitman’s home in the 7900 block of Lavender Lane, near Lynden and north of Ferndale, the victim was handcuffed and had just been told by the suspects that “they had further plans for him,” the sheriff’s office said.

Whitman and the other boy involved in the assault were booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery and second-degree assault, said Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks.

The 17-year-old victim was lured to the house on Lavender Lane by two girls who asked if he would come over, Parks said. The victim agreed, unaware that it was a ruse and that he would be assaulted. Parks said deputies are investigating the involvement of the girls.

The abuse was retaliation for the victim stealing a gun from Whitman’s house. The victim had been dating a girl who lives there, Parks said, and when the two ended their relationship, he stole a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol from the house.

The gun was later found hidden in a car in Ferndale. After stealing the gun weeks ago, Parks said the victim either sold or gave the gun to a 14-year-old boy, who then hid it in his mother’s car.

The assault victim has been booked into juvenile detention for theft of a firearm and felony possession of a firearm; the 14-year-old he sold it to was booked for possession of a stolen firearm.

Whitman remains in Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. Should he post bail, he is ordered not to possess any firearms and must surrender any deadly weapons to the Sheriff’s Office.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s office: Whatcom man beats teen for stealing gun."