Whatcom County Jail inmates hospitalized after suspected overdoses

Four people incarcerated in Whatcom County Jail were taken to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center last week after experiencing suspected opioid overdoses.

Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) corrections deputies found three of the four inmates unresponsive or unconscious and administered naloxone, known by its brand name Narcan, on all four to reverse the effects of the overdoses, according to a WCSO news release.

Just after 1 p.m. February 7, a Whatcom County Jail corrections deputy monitoring the control panel noticed an inmate on the ground in a housing unit not moving. The deputy notified additional corrections deputies who responded to the unit. Deputies observed a male inmate who was unresponsive and exhibit- ing symptoms consistent with a drug overdose, according to the release. Deputies began CPR and administered a dose of naloxone, used to reverse the effects of opioids such as fentanyl. They called 911 for additional emergency medical response and transport.

Two more inmates were found in the unit unconscious and not breathing shortly after treatment began on the first inmate. Deputies immediately began administering CPR and a dose of naloxone each.

Deputies administered a second round of naloxone to all three inmates, at which point they all regained a pulse and began to breathe on their own. First responders continued advanced medical care.

Deputies found another inmate in the unit showing signs of reduced level of consciousness and labored breathing. The inmate was treated with a dose of naloxone.

All four inmates were transported to St. Joseph in Bellingham for further assessment and treatment.

WCSO spokesperson Rodger Funk said in an email February 15 that all inmates had been treated and returned to the jail.

WCSO suspects an unknown quantity of opioids was smuggled into the facility and ingested by multiple offenders in the housing unit, according to the release.

WCSO spokesperson Deb Slater wrote in the press release the remaining offenders in the housing unit would be monitored for overdose symptoms.

No drugs or contraband were found in the housing unit during a search conducted immediately after medical response. Ac-

Blaine men sentenced for 2021 burglary where armed owner surprised burglars

B y I an H aupt

Two Blaine men who stole tools from a property in August 2021 and returned early the next morning to find the owner armed and waiting for them have been sentenced in Whatcom County Superior Court. The burglars’ van clipped the property owner while fleeing the scene. Samual Paul Belles, 24, of Blaine, was sentenced to nearly three years and one month in prison and nearly three years and one month in community custody after pleading guilty February

8 in a global resolution to second-degree attempted burglary and separate charges of assault, theft of a motor vehicle, residential burglary and attempting to elude a police vehicle, according to court documents. A global resolution settles multiple charges from different incidents together. The driver, Trenten Dean Pope, 38, also of Blaine, pled guilty in December 2021 to second-degree attempted burglary and vehicular assault and was sentenced to nine months in prison and 11 months in community custody.

Just after 7 p.m. August 28, 2021, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) deputies were dispatched to a burglary in the 1800 block of Birch Bay-Lynden Road where the homeowner reported a light blue van had entered the property and stolen tools from a locked shop, according to the affidavit of probable cause (APC). The owner provided surveillance video.

Around 2 a.m. the next day, WCSO deputies were dispatched when the owner reported the

(See Burglary, page 15)