Blaine man gets 15 years for distributing fentanyl, robbery and eluding police

A Blaine man was sentenced to 15 and a half years in prison last month for distributing fentanyl-laced pills and his involvement in an armed robbery at WinCo Foods in April 2022.

James Michael Discher, 30, was sentenced to a total of 186 months in prison after pleading guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court April 6 to two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, second-degree robbery and attempting to elude a police vehicle. The charges from separate cases were combined following Discher’s plea bargain.

In March 2022, Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force agents purchased fentanyl-laced pills from Discher twice after an investigation identified him as a mid-level narcotics dealer, according to the affidavit of probable cause. 

In April 2022, Discher pulled a handgun on two WinCo employees who attempted to stop him from walking out of the store with a bag of unpaid merchandise. A Bellingham police officer identified Discher over two weeks after the robbery was reported. Discher spotted the officer and fled at a high rate of speed. Law enforcement officers, with the help of a tip, found Discher hiding on a Bellingham property later that day and arrested him.

Discher will also serve 3.5 years in community custody following his time in prison.