Opinion ID: 2262565
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Westfall Incident

Text: ¶ 2 On December 21, 2005, Theresa Westfall was walking with her three children and two dogs in Bellingham's Lake Padden Park. As Westfall and her group (hereinafter referred to as Westfall) walked by a white van in a parking lot, the driver said something to Theresa Westfall about parking. Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (June 28, 2006) at 215, 227, 231. Westfall then walked down a trail that eventually connected with a road. When Westfall came out to the road, the white van approached them slowly from behind and then drove by and out of sight. At that point, Theresa Westfall became frightened. ¶ 3 The white van reappeared and this time crept slowly past Westfall. The van then turned around and made a third pass by Westfall. A short while later the van again drove slowly by Westfall. The van then pulled into a parking lot, backed up, and drove by Westfall a fifth time. By this time, according to Theresa Westfall, she was very scared and angry. Id. at 221. After the van made its fifth pass, it came to a stop at a stop sign. Despite the fact that there was little traffic, the van remained at the stop sign until Westfall crossed the street in front of the van. After Westfall finished crossing the street, the van remained at the stop sign. This caused Theresa Westfall to call 911. The van then drove by Westfall a final time. Westfall did not see the van again. ¶ 5 During the passes and during the time the van was at the stop sign, the driver of the van did not say anything to Westfall. Theresa Westfall testified that she did not look at the person driving the van and, when asked at trial if she could identify Kintz as the driver of the van, she was unable to do so. ¶ 16 Two officers from the Bellingham Police Department responded to Theresa Westfall's 911 call. The officers stopped a white van near Lake Padden approximately 20 minutes after they were dispatched. Kintz, who was driving the van, told the officers that he was lost and was looking for a friend's house. He also stated that he had come to the park after having an argument with his wife.