BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A Bellingham man, Shaun Michael Dickison, age 33, was arrested by Bellingham Police and booked into the Whatcom County Jail Friday, February 25th, following an investigation into hundreds of messages received by Bellingham Police Department (BPD) personnel, many making explicit threats to specific persons.
Dickison was previously charged in 2 separate cases with felony harassment and stalking in 2019 and 2020 following an investigation into hundreds of threatening online messages received by an internet celebrity he had never met. Many of the messages spoke about raping and killing the celebrity and their family while others identified the celebrity’s location. His messages later included threats against an investigating BPD officer and their family resulting the additional charges.
In both cases, Dickison pled guilty in August of 2020 to a stalking charge and harassment charges were dropped. Instead of receiving a custody sentence, he was granted a 2-year deferred sentencing. A condition of the deferred sentence was he “not be charged with any crime for which the court finds probable cause.” In addition, no contact orders were issued making it illegal for him to contact either the celebrity, the BPD officer or their families.
New charges were filed with Whatcom County Superior Court on February 24th and an order of probable cause issued by the court. The following charges stem from over 800 messages received via the Bellingham Police online reporting service since September of 2021 according to an affidavit for probable cause prepared by BPD and submitted to the court by prosecutors.
- felony stalking (previous conviction/protective order violation/deadly weapon/retaliation)
- felony harassment (previous conviction/threat to kill/criminal justice participant)
- 2 counts, protection order violation
Investigators were able to compare grammar, spelling and use of language along with internet addresses from where the messages originated and determined Dickison was the sender. In many instances, Dickison used his name or forms of it to identify himself as the sender.
As of Saturday, February 26th, Dickison remained in custody without bail pending appearing at a preliminary hearing.