WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A Sedro-Woolley man is in custody after trying to avoid a federal warrant arrest.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s spokesperson Deb Slater said that deputies responded to a storage unit near Ferndale Wednesday, June 3 at around 10:30 p.m. for a security check. Two adults and two children were found at the unit, including the suspect, 40-year-old Layton Banchero.
Deputies discovered Banchero had two active arrest warrants, one of which originated in federal court.
Banchero attempted to avoid arrest and also prevented one of the children from leaving, claiming he was armed with a gun. He was eventually taken into custody, where deputies discovered he was armed with two knives.
Federal Warrant Stems From 2015 Conviction
Court documents state that in 2015, Banchero was found guilty of smuggling large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine into Alaska.
Following his 10-year sentence, Banchero was supposed to be on supervised release for five years.
But a petition to the U.S. District Court of Western Washington alleges that he violated the supervision terms by using narcotics and not advising the court that his address changed.
