FERNDALE, Wash. — Jimmy Raymond Abitia, age 30, recently pled guilty to 2nd-degree unlawful firearm possession with a previous conviction and received a sentence of 60 months in prison.
The charge was 1 of 4 Abitia faced in Whatcom County Superior Court following an incident involving the armed theft of a vehicle in Ferndale on March 13, 2022. He was in custody after being arrested 5 days later. A $1,000,000 bail was set.
In the 2022 incident, the victim had been driving around with a member of Abitia’s family when Abitia got into the backseat of the car and instructed the victim to drive to VanderYacht Park. Upon arriving, Abitia reportedly pointed a handgun and ordered the victim to give him everything including the car’s keys. When the victim asked Abitia if he was joking, he responded by firing into the floor of the car. The victim handed over a wallet and keys and fled on foot while the Abitia and his family member drove off in the car.
Electronic transactions using the victim’s accounts following the theft were discovered. The victim identified Abitia from social media profile photos.
In 2020, Abitia pled guilty to a felony charge of delivery of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and had a charge of 2nd assault with a deadline weapon dropped in a plea deal and received a sentence of 25 months in custody and 12 months of community custody. At that time, his criminal history since 2011 included felony convictions of malicious mischief, assault, possession of a controlled substance, theft and bail jumping. After he failed to comply with all the conditions of the sentencing, he received an additional 10 months in custody.
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