A 36-year-old man has been booked into the Whatcom County Jail on probable cause for first-degree murder after he called 911 Thursday, June 7, to report someone was barely breathing after a fight, according to Bellingham Police.
The call was made around 9:10 a.m. and when law enforcement arrived at a residence on Old Samish Road, they found an adult male with injuries caused by blunt force trauma, according to Megan Peters, a spokesperson for BPD. The man, Nolan Dennett from Bellingham, was declared dead on scene.
The suspect, who made the call, was arrested without incident, according to Peters. The suspect said that he and and the victim had been taking drugs and were involved in a fight two days before.
With the use of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office K9 team, a hammer believed to be associated with the fight was found near a walking path to Arroyo Park, according to Peters.
During the course of the investigation, BPD closed the 1700 block of Old Samish Road to all traffic throughout the day on Thursday. The road was later reopened.
The suspect, who has not been formally charged as of Friday morning, was booked into jail around 5 p.m. Thursday and is being held without bail, according to online jail records.
This story was updated to add the name of the victim.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
