Court dismisses case of man suspected of threatening neighbors, security at Birch Bay Village

Whatcom County Superior Court dismissed the case of a Birch Bay man suspected of threatening to kill his neighbors and an on-duty Birch Bay Village security guard in July, according to court documents.

Scott Brandon Peterson, 50, was released from Whatcom County Jail September 2 after his case was dismissed less than a month before it was supposed to go to trial.

According to jail records, Peterson was booked into Whatcom County Jail July 9 on suspicion of harassment, carrying a weapon, reckless driving and third-degree malicious mischief.

Peterson, in the early morning of July 9, reportedly walked up to the Birch Bay Village security podium and told the on-duty security guard he was going to kill his neighbors, according to the affidavit of probable cause (APC). “You could be one of them,” Peterson reportedly said. He then proceeded to stab the security podium, cut camera wires, broke glass in the street, threatened to kill his neighbors and himself, and later tried to avoid Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) deputies, according to the APC.

According to the order of dismissal without prejudice, court commissioner Leon F. Henley Jr. ordered September 2 that Peterson be dismissed without prejudice and released from jail immediately. Court documents did not state why the case was dismissed.

A Whatcom County Superior Court representative said the information on the order was the only reasoning they could give.