Man suspected in Whatcom County attempted murder in June arrested in Eastern Washington

A Whatcom County man charged with attempted murder after reportedly shooting a man in the chest earlier this summer east of Ferndale was arrested earlier this month in Eastern Washington.

Lane Scott Phipps, 26, is currently in Snohomish County Jail, according to jail records, being held in lieu of $500,000 bail on suspicion of first-degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm and first-degree kidnapping.

Phipps has not yet appeared in Whatcom County Superior Court on second-degree attempted murder charges that were filed June 30, court records show, the same day the court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Yakima Police Department gang unit detectives helped members of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Homeland Security Investigations, ATF and the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office arrest Phipps Aug. 2 in Toppenish, according to a Yakima Police news release posted to Facebook.

After being located by law enforcement, Phipps, who the release stated is a known gang member, attempted to run, but he was quickly caught and arrested.

The Lynnwood Police Department later transported Phipps back to Snohomish County, where he is suspected of taking a woman hostage and shooting at police to get away in a July 5 incident, according to the release.

Whatcom County attempted murder

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office in a Facebook post July 6 stated that Phipps was wanted on suspicion of attempted murder in Whatcom County.

According to court documents in that case, deputies responded at 6:17 p.m. June 14 to the 6000 block of Aldrich Road for the report that a man had been shot.

Deputies found the victim that had suffered a gunshot wound through his chest, causing several injuries. The victim was taken to St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham for treatment of several injuries, including a punctured lung.

Witnesses at the scene told deputies that a black passenger car had pulled into the driveway and drove approximately 150 feet back to a cabin on the property, documents stated. Deputies reportedly learned that Phipps had “a beef” with the victim and went to the Aldrich Road property looking for the victim, according to documents.

Witnesses told deputies there was a 15-minute argument between the victim and Phipps, who had been in the black car, documents state.

Surveillance video showed the black vehicle started pulling out of the driveway toward Aldrich Road, and the victim walked toward the car as it was leaving, according to documents.

The car, which was then out of camera view, stopped and an occupant of the car shot the victim in the chest, documents state, and the car then left the scene.

Deputies located a .45 caliber shell casing at the scene near where the car had been stopped and where witnesses reported hearing the gunshot come from, according to documents.

Several witnesses identified Phipps as the person who shot the victim, documents state, and deputies were able to find that Phipps was the owner of the black 2011 Jaguar believed to have been associated with the incident.