Posted: October 22, 2009 11:31:01 PST
Less than a week after being reported, Bellingham Police Detectives along with University Police have arrested one WWU student for robbery and are seeking the location of a second person. The arrest occurred late Wednesday evening at a Residence Hall on the campus of WWU. The arrest of the man is in connection with an armed robbery that allegedly occurred on October 15. On that day, a 20 year old WWU student reported that while walking on a trail in the Sehome Arboretum, he was approached by two males, one with a hand gun and the other with a knife. The suspects took the victim’s backpack which contained an IPod along with other items.
A phone call to the Bellingham Police from an anonymous person lead Detectives to recover the IPod from a third man. That man, not considered a suspect, provided information which ultimately lead to the identification of the two suspects. University Police was able to locate the two suspect’s current addresses on campus.
Bellingham Police Detectives, along with University Police, contacted one of the suspects at his dorm room and arrested him without incident. Two separate search warrants were served on the suspect’s dorm rooms. Clothing believed to have been used in the robbery and several knifes, were impounded. One of the knifes impounded has been identified as being the one used in the crime.
Derreck C. Opheim, age 19 was booked into Whatcom County Jail for robbery in the 1st degree and trafficking stolen property in the 1stdegree. The second man being sought is 19 year old Sean J. Heien. At this time he is considered a person of interest. Anyone with information concerning his location is asked to call 911.
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Media Contact:
Mark Young
Public Information Officer
Bellingham Police Department
(360)778-8815
myoung@cob.org
