Bellingham woman arrested, suspected of hate crime against her neighbor
Bellingham Police arrested a woman suspected of a hate crime after she reportedly repeatedly threatened her neighbor, once using racial slurs.
Karlee Darlene Sirmans, 41, was booked Thursday, Sept. 1, into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of malicious harassment.
Police were called at approximately 1:01 a.m. July 16 to the 300 block of Meadowbrook Court for the report of the harassment, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
The victim told police that she had been repeatedly harassed by Sirmans, Murphy reported, and on July 16, Sirmans had screamed at the victim, threatened her and called her vulgar names, including one that was a racial slur.
The victim told officers she believes her race is one of the reasons she had been harassed by Sirmans, according to Murphy.
The victim attempted to leave in her car on July 16, and Sirmans threatened her, saying “I’m going to jump you,” Murphy reported. Srimans then reportedly pulled out of her own parking spot, narrowly missing the victim’s car.
Police contacted Sirmans on Wednesday, Aug. 31, but determined she was the only caretaker for her children, according to Murphy, and the officer made arrangements for Sirmans to turn herself in on Thursday.
