Two Blaine men who stole tools from a property in August 2021 and returned early the next morning to find the owner armed and waiting for them have been sentenced in Whatcom County Superior Court. The burglars’ van clipped the property owner while fleeing the scene.
Samual Paul Belles, 24, of Blaine, was sentenced to nearly three years and one month in prison and nearly three years and one month in community custody after pleading guilty February 8 in a global resolution to second-degree attempted burglary and separate charges of assault, theft of a motor vehicle, residential burglary and attempting to elude a police vehicle, according to court documents. A global resolution settles multiple charges from different incidents together.
The driver, Trenten Dean Pope, 38, also of Blaine, pled guilty in December 2021 to second-degree attempted burglary and vehicular assault and was sentenced to nine months in prison and 11 months in community custody.
Just after 7 p.m. August 28, 2021, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) deputies were dispatched to a burglary in the 1800 block of Birch Bay-Lynden Road where the homeowner reported a light blue van had entered the property and stolen tools from a locked shop, according to the affidavit of probable cause (APC). The owner provided surveillance video.
Around 2 a.m. the next day, WCSO deputies were dispatched when the owner reported the light blue van had returned.
The two men approached the locked building again and tried to remove a padlock on its door. According to the APC, the owner stood up, armed with a firearm, from where he was hiding and told the men to get on the ground. Belles challenged him, saying, “He’s not going to do anything.” Belles and Pope then walked back to the van.
The owner pursued to attempt to get a description and the van’s license plate. As he rounded the corner, Pope, who was driving the van, drove at him. The owner later said he thought he was going to be run over. He said the passenger side mirror struck him as it passed.
Blaine police and WCSO deputies located the van shortly after and arrested Belles and Pope.
Belles was out on bond at the time. He had three other cases dating to 2019 resolved with the guilty plea. The most recent case was the third-degree domestic violence assault charge from September 2022, where Belles pulled his girlfriend from her truck, slammed her on the ground twice, strangled her and threw keys at her hard enough to leave a mark, according to the APC.
Belles has prior felony convictions for malicious mischief, motor vehicle theft, possession of stolen property and trafficking stolen property.
Pope has prior felony convictions for second-degree burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and bail jumping.
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