Bellingham man sentenced after pleading guilty to burglary, drug and firearm charges

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Austin Dean Grimme pled guilty to several charges and was sentenced in Whatcom County Superior Court on November 7th. The charges stemmed from an arrest in May following a traffic stop that led to a search of his residence.

According to court documents, Grimme received the following sentences for the 3 felony charges he pled guilty to.

• Possession of controlled substance (fentanyl) with intent to distribute – 90 months (7.5 years)
• 2nd-degree burglary – 78 months (6.5 years)
• Unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon – 59.5 months (~5 years)

Prison custody will be followed by a year in community custody.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by prosecutors in Whatcom County Superior Court, the traffic stop was conducted by Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies on May 14th in Cornwall Park in Bellingham. The driver, Grimme, admitted to and was found with 3 ounces of white powder, which later tested positive for fentanyl, in separate ounce-sized baggies. During the stop, another vehicle arrived at the same parking lot and that driver admitted they were there to purchase drugs from Grimme.

A search of Grimme’s vehicle located parts for Glock-style handguns in bags. A search of his residence located the following.

• a 3D printer with multiple spools of polymer used to make computer-generated objects
• 3 assembled Glock-style handguns with loaded magazines inserted, 2 assembled from 3D printed frames
• a suppressor (firearm silencer)
• handgun magazines including 1 that appeared to have been 3D printed
• 6 polymer handgun frames that appeared to have been 3D printed
• baggies, scales, paraphernalia, etc. associated with drug sales

At the time of the arrest, Grimme had prior felony convictions for 1st-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, 2nd-degree burglary, residential burglary, 2nd-degree malicious mischief and 1st-degree possession of stolen property.