BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A Sudden Valley man who was previously arrested on numerous charges after receiving a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Bellingham hotel in January, has since been arrested again and faces additional felony charges in Whatcom County Superior Court.
At the time of the gunshot wound incident and his subsequent arrest in January, Owen was out of custody after posting $50,000, $20,000 and $2,000 appearance bonds while awaiting trial on felony charges for suspicion of possession of controlled substances and 2nd degree robbery related to arrests in 2020.
He was returned to custody in January and charged with suspicion of possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver, unlawful possession of a firearm (2 counts) by a convicted felon
and possession of a stolen firearm. He posted an $85,000 appearance bond on January 18th and was released from custody according to a timeline submitted into court records by a Whatcom County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. The timeline was submitted in an effort to convince the court to review Owen’s release conditions and increase bail.
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Click for more informationAccording to the timeline, Owen subsequently failed to appear for the arraignment in the January case and the defense counsel said they had told the defendant not to appear due to the court’s 28th Administrative Order. As a result, a continuance was granted to February 11th, and he failed to appear on that date as well. Defense counsel argued Owen did not receive notice of the rescheduled date and the court granted another continuance to February 25th. Owen failed to appear on that date as well and defense counsel said, again, that the state had failed to notify Owen. The court declared the bond forfeited and issued an arrest warrant for failure to appear.
The prosecutor’s office was made aware on February 28th of an incident that was reported on February 4th to Bellingham Police. According to the timeline, it was determined Owen had pointed a handgun at a stranger asking which leg he preferred to be shot in. Subsequent contacts with law enforcement resulted in terminated pursuits, at times exceeding 100mph.
According to declaration prepared by a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputy, information was obtained indicating Owen was in Everett. The deputy requested assistance from the Snohomish County Drug Task Force and the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force. On March 9th, investigators with both task forces observed Owen as he got in the passenger side of a vehicle while carrying a bag.
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Click for more informationThe investigators stopped the vehicle and took Owen into custody. They could see a part of a firearm in the bag he had been seen carrying into the vehicle. A narcotics detection K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics around the vehicle.
According to the Bellingham Police press summary log, Owen was arrested at the Whatcom County Courthouse and returned to custody on March 11th. According to Whatcom County Jail records, he was then charged with suspicion of having committed multiple new crimes and arrested on multiple warrants for failing to appear in court on multiple cases.
A search warrant was served on March 14th on the vehicle in Snohomish County. “A short-barreled AR-platform semi-automatic rifle was recovered from the dark-colored bag, … as well as multiple loaded magazines of the corresponding caliber. Small amounts of suspected controlled substances were located in the vehicle.” Related firearm and drug possession charges were expected in Snohomish County Superior Court.
As indicated on the jail booking log as of April 1st (above), Owen remains in custody and bail amounts have been raised due to failures to appear and the severity of the crimes.
Owen has prior felony convictions dating back to 2014 for possession of controlled substances, attempting to elude a police vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle and 2nd degree assault.