Mount Baker from Custer area in the 2020s. (Fernando Gonzalez / Bellingham Metro News)
CUSTER, Wash. — A 37-year-old Custer man was arrested Wednesday, October 21, following a more than three-hour law enforcement response at a property along Valley View Road, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
Bellingham Metro News received reports Wednesday evening of a possible SWAT situation in the Custer area. BMN subsequently contacted the Sheriff’s Office seeking additional information about the incident.
In an email sent directly to Bellingham Metro News on Thursday, October 22, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Deb Slater confirmed that deputies had been attempting to arrest a man in connection with an alleged domestic violence assault dating back to December 2025.
According to Slater, investigators had developed probable cause to arrest the 37-year-old man on suspicion of second-degree domestic violence assault. Detectives recently learned that he was staying at a residence in the 8700 block of Valley View Road.
Deputies arrived at the property around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday to take the man into custody. However, he allegedly refused to come outside despite being directed to do so by law enforcement.
For more than three hours, a negotiator with the Sheriff’s Office Crisis Team attempted to persuade the man to leave the property voluntarily.
During the response, authorities determined that the man was inside a trailer parked just north of the main residence. Deputies instructed him to exit the trailer, and he eventually complied.
The man was taken into custody, transported and booked into the Whatcom County Jail.
In addition to the original alleged second-degree domestic violence assault and an outstanding warrant for driving while license suspended, authorities said they developed probable cause to arrest the man on suspicion of obstructing a law enforcement officer.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the additional allegation stems from the man’s alleged refusal to leave the enclosed trailer despite repeated announcements over a public address system instructing him to come outside and advising him that he was under arrest.
Although initial reports received by Bellingham Metro News described the incident as a possible SWAT situation, the Sheriff’s Office did not specifically confirm whether a SWAT unit was deployed.
Additional details surrounding the alleged December 2025 domestic violence incident were not provided in the Sheriff’s Office’s response to BMN.
All suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Deb Slater, in an email provided directly to Bellingham Metro News on October 22, 2026.
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