A man who fired multiple shots at another person in a north Bellingham parking lot in December 2023 has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Jesus Monreal Bojorquez, 29, pleaded guilty on August 18 to one count of drive-by shooting and one count of second-degree assault, closing a case that began with a shooting in the Walmart parking lot on Meridian Street that left the victim requiring lengthy surgery. The sentencing brings a formal end to nearly three years of criminal proceedings that began with arrests made the same night as the shooting.
Court documents describe the incident in December 2023: Bojorquez fired several shots from the driver's seat of his vehicle at a man in the parking lot. Two of the bullets struck the victim. Bojorquez told investigators he targeted the man because he believed the victim had robbed his passenger, Jordan Velthuizen, earlier that month. The shooting appears to have been retaliatory rather than random, rooted in a grievance between people who knew each other rather than a random act of violence against a stranger in a public space.
How the Suspects Were Caught
The arrest of both individuals in the hours after the shooting came down to a detail that often proves decisive in drive-by cases: the gun. As Bojorquez drove north on Guide Meridian after the shooting, Velthuizen threw the firearm out the passenger window in an apparent attempt to dispose of the evidence. Law enforcement stopped the vehicle on the Guide, and both Bojorquez and Velthuizen were taken into custody. The discarded weapon was recovered, linking the two directly to the shooting.
The decision to throw the weapon out the window while being pursued was a significant error on the part of the occupants. Rather than eliminating the physical evidence, the act of discarding the firearm gave investigators a recoverable weapon that could be tied directly to the vehicle's occupants at the time and location of the shooting. Ballistic analysis would connect the recovered gun to the bullets found at the scene and in the victim. That chain of physical evidence, combined with the circumstances of the stop and Bojorquez's own statements to investigators, built the foundation for the guilty plea that followed years later.
Velthuizen's case moved through the courts earlier. In February 2026, she was sentenced to three years in prison for her role in the shooting. Her plea and sentencing came several months before Bojorquez resolved his own case. The difference in their sentences, three years for Velthuizen versus ten years for Bojorquez, reflects the distinction courts draw between the person who pulled the trigger and those who were present but did not fire. Bojorquez's 10-year term reflects both the seriousness of his role as the shooter and the significant injuries inflicted on the victim, who required extensive medical care following the incident.
Context: Gun Violence Cases in Whatcom County
The Walmart parking lot shooting was one of several gun violence incidents in Bellingham that drew public attention in 2023 and 2024. Bellingham Police Department handles a range of violent crime investigations each year, and cases involving firearms tend to generate the longest criminal proceedings, given the complexity of evidence collection, forensic analysis, and the seriousness of charges involved. Major felony cases in Whatcom County typically take one to three years from arrest to final resolution, with the timeline shaped by evidence review, pretrial motions, plea negotiations, and court scheduling.
Drive-by shooting is a specific charge under Washington state law that carries significant penalties. Under RCW 9A.36.045, drive-by shooting is classified as a class B felony, defined as recklessly discharging a firearm in a manner that creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical harm to another person, and is committed from a motor vehicle. In this case, the recklessness element was arguably exceeded by intentional targeting, which is reflected in the accompanying second-degree assault charge. Second-degree assault requires the use of a weapon and the intentional infliction of substantial bodily harm, both of which were clearly present. The combination of those two charges, and the actual harm suffered by the victim, placed the case firmly in a sentencing range that made a decade-long term likely from the moment Bojorquez entered his guilty plea.
The Bellingham Police Department investigates violent crimes in the city with support from the Whatcom County Prosecutor's Office, which handles felony prosecutions. The City of Bellingham's police department releases information on significant arrests and case resolutions through its public communications channels. The Whatcom County Superior Court, located in the Whatcom County Courthouse in downtown Bellingham, is where felony cases of this type are heard and sentenced. The courthouse has been a busy venue this week for another high-profile matter as well, hosting a hand recount in the 42nd District Senate race where candidates finished just four votes apart in the primary.
What Happens Next
With both Bojorquez and Velthuizen now sentenced, the criminal case is closed at the trial court level. Bojorquez will serve his 10-year term in Washington State Department of Corrections custody. Under Washington's sentencing guidelines, he will be subject to earned release time based on conduct during incarceration, but the base term reflects the gravity of intentionally shooting another person in a public parking lot frequented by families and community members throughout the day. The Guide Meridian Walmart location is one of the busier retail sites in Whatcom County, and the fact that the shooting occurred in that parking lot added a layer of public concern about safety in commercial areas.
For the victim, who survived the shooting after requiring significant surgery, the sentencing closes the most active phase of the legal process. Victims in Washington state criminal cases have rights under the state constitution, including the right to be heard at sentencing and to receive notification of changes in the offender's custody status. Civil remedies remain theoretically available but are rarely pursued in cases where defendants face lengthy prison terms and limited financial resources. The practical path forward for most victims in cases like this one is personal recovery and the gradual resumption of normal life, with the criminal sentence providing a measure of accountability even when it cannot undo the physical harm caused.
Washington's Department of Corrections provides information on offender locations and release dates through its public offender search tool, where family members and community members can track incarceration status. Victims registered with the department's victim notification program receive automatic updates on changes to an offender's status, including transfers between facilities, release hearings, and any changes to projected release dates.
For Bellingham residents, the resolution of this case is a reminder that violent crime investigations and prosecutions, even when arrests happen quickly, take years to move through the courts. The December 2023 shooting became a guilty plea in August 2026, nearly three years later. That timeline is typical for serious felony cases in Whatcom County, where the courts balance a full docket of criminal matters and both prosecution and defense require time to review evidence, evaluate legal strategy, and negotiate outcomes. For other recent crime coverage from Bellingham, a recent sentencing in a downtown drug trafficking case offers additional context on how the local court system has been handling serious criminal matters this summer.
