A 20-year-old Ferndale man and two juveniles are suspected of a retaliation attack against a student who filmed another displaying a weapon on campus, resulting in a lockdown of Ferndale High earlier this month.
The Ferndale Police Department booked Samuel Aaron Moran-Vincent into Whatcom County Jail Friday, Dec. 17, on suspicion of first-degree robbery, third-degree theft, third-degree malicious mischief and fourth-degree assault. Jail records show he was released Tuesday, Dec. 21, on a $250 cash bond.
At approximately 2 a.m. Dec. 7, Moran-Vincent and the two juvenile suspects schemed to lure the victim to Skyline Elementary, using a phone call, according to Whatcom County Superior Court documents.
When the victim arrived, Moran-Vincent and the two juvenile suspects took his cell phone, slashed the tires on his bike and kicked and punched him, documents state, leaving the victim with visible injuries.
"The assault and robbery were apparently done in retaliation for a previous incident at Ferndale High School where (the victim) filmed another student displaying a weapon on campus and then distributed that video on social media," court documents state.
The victim told police that Moran-Vincent ended up with the victim's cell phone, one of the juvenile suspects slashed the victim's bike tires and the second juvenile suspect filmed it, according to documents.
The victim identified the juvenile suspects through his relationships with them and made a visual identification of Moran-Vincent when he appeared at Ferndale High the following day, documents state.
As previously reported by The Bellingham Herald, the student who reportedly brought the weapon to Ferndale High, forcing the school into a three-hour lockdown Dec. 1, turned himself into law enforcement a day later, the Ferndale School District and Police Department reported.
The weapon also was seized and was confirmed to be a BB gun, according to a joint news release Dec. 2 from the school district and police. The student's name is not being released, but he was turned over to his legal guardian.
Parents received notice of the potential threat in two messages delivered Wednesday morning, Dec. 1.
"This morning, Ferndale High School administration received a report of a weapon on campus," the release stated. "The report was made based on a Snapchat video of a student displaying the weapon in a campus bathroom."
