BELLINGHAM, Wash. — According to an affidavit filed by prosecutors in Whatcom County Superior Court, staff at a downtown Bellingham business began arriving to work just before 7am on Thursday, April 11th, and were confronted by a man with a knife.
Bellingham Police officers were dispatched to a report of a man inside the business who had threatened employees with a knife. They arrived to learn that the first employee to arrive reported the man attempted to push past the employee in an attempt to gain but the employee was able to secure the door with the man outside.
Soon after, 2 other employees arrived and when attempting to walk past the man reportedly saw him pull a knife out while staring at them. They retreated and called the first employee to warn of the knife-wielding man outside. The first employee was also trying to warn them after their early encounter.
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Click for more informationThe man soon after was able to enter the building and when the employee inside saw him, they exited the building through another door.
Police arrived to find the employees outside and the man just outside the doors of the business. The man refused to comply with officers’ instructions to get on the ground, so force was used to gain compliance and to safely take him into custody. A large pocketknife, as described by the victims, was found on him.
The man, identified as Kolya Daughs, age 34, was arrested and booked into Whatcom County Jail. He currently faces 3 felony 2nd-degree assault with a deadly weapon charges, felony 1st-degree burglary charge and a gross misdemeanor charge of displaying weapons capable producing harm. Bond has been set at $75,000.
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Click for more informationDaughs has a history of arrests and convictions for felony assault and other charges, including resisting arrest.
In July of 2023, Daughs pled guilty to felony 3rd-degree assault charges and a felony malicious mischief charge and was sentenced to 27.75 month in prison and agreed to participate in a prison-based drug offender sentencing alternative. This would be followed 27.75 months in community custody.