Minutes after being released, he was back out committing more crimes, Bellingham police say

Within minutes of being released from police custody for a string of crimes, a man was back out there again, committing more crimes in Bellingham, police said.

Joshua R McLemore was contacted by police four separate times on Monday and Tuesday.

McLemore was first contacted by police for theft of a backpack at 4:50 a.m. Monday. He was transported to the police station and the backpack was recovered by police and he was released with third-degree theft charges, Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.

Within minutes of being released by police, McLemore was reportedly trying to get into someone’s car without permission at 5:40 a.m. in the 200 block of Lottie Street, Murphy said. He also took the phone of this person, according to Murphy.

Police found McLemore at an apartment in the 2100 block of Young Street. He was taken into custody without incident and cited for attempted vehicle prowl first-degree and third-degree theft for taking the victim’s phone. He was taken to PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s for an evaluation based on his behavior, Murphy said.

At 11:24 p.m. that same day, officers responded to two residents at 1200 Whatcom Street who reported McLemore entered each of their apartments. Neither of these residents knew McLemore, and they did not invite him into their apartments. When the first resident told McLemore to leave or they would call police, he left and entered the second resident’s apartment, who confronted McLemore and told him to leave, which he did.

McLemore was booked for criminal trespass, according to Chief of Corrections Wendy Jones. This is a misdemeanor crime so the jail did not hold him for long, as there are booking restrictions due to a lack of jail space, she told The Herald.

In the morning of May 2, officers responded to a woman screaming she was being attacked at the 700 block of North State Street. The woman said she was outside smoking a cigarette when a man, later identified as McLemore, asked her for a cigarette. When she refused, he shoved her to the ground and punched her in the head at least twice, according to Murphy.

McLemore reportedly got on top of the woman, who in self-defense squeezed his testicles. He got up, took her cigarettes and a lighter, and walked away. Police called a medical aid vehicle to check on the woman’s injuries, as she showed signs of being punched, Murphy said.

Officers were able to detain McLemore in the 700 block of North State Street for first-degree robbery. This time, he remains booked in the Whatcom County Jail on that charge.