BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Rayven T D Butler-Washington, age 27, was sentenced in Whatcom County Superior Court on March 11th after pleading guilty to a count of 2nd-degree murder stemming from a fatal hit-and-run incident on May 6, 2022.
Butler-Washington was sentenced to 124 months in prison followed by 36 months of community custody with credit for time served while awaiting sentencing. She had remained in custody after being arrested on May 18, 2022, with a $1 million bond requirement.
Charges of vehicular homicide and hit-and-run resulting in death were dropped.
The charges were the result of a 38-year-old Deming man’s death after being run over near the intersection of Midway Lane and Hammer Drive following an argument with Butler-Washington. The man was declared dead at the scene.
Click for more information
Click for more information
About 6 hours after the incident, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies contacted a woman in the 1300 block of Marine Drive who was identified as Butler-Washington. She was sitting in the driver’s seat of a Ford Explorer that matched witness descriptions.
She told detectives she had not seen the victim since the day before and had picked up the Ford from a Bellingham hotel with the front end already damaged.
Detectives later spoke with another witness who said Butler-Washington and the victim had spoken with him about 3 hours before the incident.
Surveillance video at the Bellingham hotel was reviewed and the Ford was not seen as Butler-Washington had claimed.
Surveillance video in the area of the incident shows a woman matching Butler-Washington’s description walking toward the area where the incident occurred. That woman is not seen walking away from the area and detectives believe that is because she drove away in the Ford.
According to Bellingham Police Department Spokesperson Lieutenant Claudia Murphy, Butler-Washington was contacted on May 18, 2022, by Lummi Police Department personnel, arrested without incident and booked into the Whatcom County Jail.
Discover more from Whatcom News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.