Blown stop sign leads to two-hour standoff in Peaceful Valley; driver faces theft, drug charges

An attempt to ticket the driver of a box van for running a stop sign in Whatcom County resulted in a standoff between law enforcement and the suspect, and a drug seizure.

Deputies from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office followed the box van after noting it was moving erratically at 10 a.m. April 20 at 800 Deep Valley Drive. The vehicle continued to travel erratically until stopping at a residence in the 1200 block of Hopeful Valley Lane in Peaceful Valley.

The suspect, later identified as Drew Michael Neilan, 32, ran behind the residence and entered it, according to Deb Slater with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. Slater said Neilan does not live at the residence.

While deputies waited for the search warrant for the residence and the van, they gave several orders to Neilan over a loudspeaker to come out and informed him he was under arrest.

After about two hours, Neilan exited the residence and was taken into custody, according to Slater.

A SWAT team was dispatched to the scene, and Neilan was taken into custody around the time it arrived.

Authorities searched both the residence and the van. Inside the van they found drugs, multiple cell phones, a scale, small plastic bags and pipes with burned residue consistent with drug use. Blue pills and crystal-like substances were found in the cab of the van.

Neilan was arrested on two counts of attempting to elude a police vehicle, reckless driving, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, obstructing a police officer, resisting arrest and two counts of theft from the Bellingham Police Department. He remains in custody at Whatcom County Jail.

Neilan is a suspect in a theft reported at a Fred Meyer grocery store in north Bellingham on March 28 and another at Lowe’s on March 19, according to Megan Peters with the Bellingham Police Department.