Man sentenced to over 6 years in prison for vehicular assault and assault while in jail

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Esteven Raynaldo Delafuente, age 29, pled guilty and was sentenced last month to charges related to a crash while attempting to elude law enforcement and an assault while awaiting trial in the Whatcom County Jail.

In 1 case in Whatcom County Superior Court, Delafuente pled guilty to felony charges of vehicular assault while driving under the influence and causing substantial bodily harm, unlawful imprisonment and attempting to elude a law enforcement vehicle. Gross misdemeanor charges of driving while under the influence and reckless driving were dismissed.

In another case, Delafuente pled guilty to 2nd-degree assault with intent to cause substation bodily harm. This charged stemmed from an incident in the jail when a verbal dispute with another inmate escalated to a physical assault.

As a result of the pleading, Delafuente was sentenced to 74 months (6.2 years) in prison with credit for time already served while awaiting trial followed by 18 months in community custody.

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The vehicular assault, imprisonment and eluding charges were the result of an incident on July 19, 2022, when a Washington State Patrol (WSP) trooper came upon a vehicle being driven by Delafuente and observed at speeds of 80 to 100mph while struggling to stay in its lane. The trooper engaged in a pursuit after the vehicle failed to yield to the WSP vehicle’s lights and siren. The trooper came around a curve on Samish Way to find the suspect vehicle had crashed into a tree and appeared to be catching fire. With the assistance of a second trooper, they broke the windows in order to extricate Delafuente and his injured passenger. The passenger told the troopers he had asked to be let out of the vehicle but the Delafuente refused.

At the time of his arrest, Delafuente was awaiting trial in Skagit County Superior Court where he face charges of 2nd degree organized retail theft, 2nd degree burglary and 2nd degree malicious mischief.

Delafuente has prior felony convictions in Skagit County Superior Court including attempting to elude a police vehicle, driving under the influence and 2nd degree possession of stolen property.