By Catalina Gaitán
The Seattle Times
WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — A 23-year-old man suspected of firing 10 times at a Lummi Nation police officer on Monday is being held without bail in the Whatcom County Jail on a charge of first-degree attempted murder.
The Whatcom County sheriff’s office has not identified the tribal officer but said in a statement Wednesday that he has undergone multiple surgeries and is still hospitalized.
“This has been a long and very difficult two days as our brother officer begins the slow journey of recovering from his injuries,” Whatcom County Sheriff Donnell Tanksley said in the agency’s statement. “Our hearts are with the officer, his family, Lummi Nation (police) and the greater Lummi Nation community.”
The alleged shooter, Jesus Penuelas-Agramon , had his first court appearance Wednesday in Whatcom County Superior Court . In an interview with detectives, he said he was at home when the shooting happened, according to an affidavit filed Wednesday by the Whatcom County prosecutor’s office.
Penuelas-Agramon is also facing charges of being a fugitive from justice, delivery of the controlled substance fentanyl and money laundering, and is wanted in Colorado for violating his parole in a separate case, according to the sheriff’s office and Whatcom County Jail records.
The tribal officer was wearing his uniform and driving his marked patrol car behind a white Ford Ranger shortly before 1 a.m. Monday , when he saw the truck crash in a ditch on North Red River Road , according to the affidavit.
As the officer approached the car to check on the driver, a man later identified as Penuelas-Agramon climbed out of the passenger side window and out of the ditch, the sheriff’s office said.
Penuelas-Agramon allegedly pulled out a handgun and fired at least 10 times, striking the officer seven times in “an unprovoked attack, the sheriff’s office said. He then fled to a friend’s apartment in Ferndale , according to the sheriff’s office.
The officer was taken to St. Joseph’s Medical Center with gunshot wounds in his legs, abdomen and head. One of the bullets lodged in the front of his bulletproof vest. The officer immediately went into surgery for eight hours, then was placed into a medically induced coma. He underwent a second surgery the next day and is now in stable condition, according to the affidavit.
Another Lummi Nation police officer stopped a GMC Sierra driving in the area about 20 minutes after the shooting. Three people inside the car gave the officer their names and dates of birth, but one of them, later identified as Penuelas-Agramon, allegedly gave the officer an alias. The officer did not have a description of the shooting suspect at the time and let the car go, the affidavit states.
A Lummi Nation representative did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.
Investigators reviewed body-worn camera footage of the shooting and recognized the shooter as a person named Javier Pena-Flores . SWAT members tracked him down at his girlfriend’s apartment and arrested him. He was treated for injuries from the truck crash at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center , then booked into the Whatcom County Jail , where a fingerprint analysis identified him as Penuelas-Agramon, the sheriff’s office said. The other name was an alias, according to authorities.
Back at the scene on North Red River Road , police found shell casings and a handgun they determined was stolen from a Whatcom County resident. Investigators have not determined whether the gun was the one used in the shooting, according to the sheriff’s office.
Penuelas-Agramon was previously convicted in Colorado for unlawful possession of a firearm and drug trafficking. The Colorado Department of Corrections issued a warrant for his arrest March 6 after he violated the conditions of his parole. The warrant notes that Penuelas-Agramon has “violent tendencies, according to the affidavit.
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