Whatcom County man accused of using semi to plow through gate, damage another vehicle

BELLINGHAM — Authorities arrested a Whatcom County man as part of an investigation into a June incident during which he allegedly crashed a semi-truck through a closed gate and into a vehicle of someone known to him, pushing the vehicle back 30 feet.

The incident occurred June 6 in the 4500 block of Squalicum Lake Road. Law enforcement had been looking for the man — Simon Fedrerick Destaffany, 37 — since the June incident, according to Deb Slater with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.

Slater said it is unclear where Destaffany acquired the semi-truck, which has not been identified or located.

The reporting party knows Destaffany, and reported a semi-truck was used in the incident. Slater said the damages done to the gate and the other vehicle were consistent with that of a semi-truck.

Destaffany was found and arrested Oct. 12, when deputies responded to reports of a disabled vehicle blocking the street in the 300 block of East Axton Road. The vehicle is registered to Destaffany. Deputies were responding to a traffic incident and were unaware Destaffany was wanted until running the license plates.

Destaffany was arrested on suspicion of first-degree malicious mischief, a class B felony, and hit and run of an unattended vehicle, a misdemeanor.