Ferndale police have arrested Kimberly Trujillo Mendoza for allegedly helping a murder suspect escape to Arizona after a January shooting at a large party in Ferndale, according to a news release.
Trujillo Mendoza, 21, is suspected of helping Miguel Angel Miranda flee after the Jan. 23 shooting of Jose Esquivel Hernandez outside the American Legion Building in Ferndale, police said.
She was charged with rendering criminal assistance and booked into Whatcom County Jail on March 10, the news release said. Trujillo Mendoza was held for about 30 minutes before being released, according to Whatcom County Jail records.
Witnesses told authorities the couple was seen together at the party before the shooting; Trujillo Mendoza and Miguel Miranda are dating and share a child together, police said.
Miranda was arrested on Jan. 28 in Phoenix, Arizona after traffic cameras captured his car traveling south from Kingman, Arizona, on Jan. 24. He faces second-degree murder charges and is awaiting a jury trial scheduled for April 11 in Whatcom County Superior Court. Miranda, 23, remains in jail in lieu of $5 million bail, court records show.
Trujillo Mendoza admitted to driving to Arizona with Miranda in an interview with investigators, the news release said. Police found receipts from businesses in Las Vegas and the Phoenix area, during a vehicle search, they said. Investigators also verified Trujillo Mendoza was using the car with a person believed to be Miranda by using the receipts, security footage and bank records, the Ferndale police news release said.
The incident occurred when Hernandez, 28, denied Miranda and two others entrance into the party, according to court records. The men began arguing as Hernandez escorted them into a parking lot. Officers found Hernandez laying on the ground with two gunshot wounds to the mid-torso, the records said. Hernandez later died from the injuries at St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham.
