North Sound News

Bellingham police arrest man in indecent exposure incident

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A man was arrested Tuesday in Bellingham on accusations that he exposed himself, according to a report in the Bellingham Herald.

Daryl James Coates, 38, of Ferndale, was booked into jail on charges of indecent exposure with a previous conviction and a suspected controlled substance violation.

The incident happened in the 900 block of North Forest Street just after 9 p.m., according to Bellingham police.

Officers received a report that a man was found with no pants on in a parking garage.

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Detectives with the Bellingham police are investigating if Coates is connected to a string of recent exposures that happened around the campus of Western Washington University.

Coates is reported to have convictions for indecent exposure extending back to 2014, along with other violations.

This is the latest in a string of incidents that have been reported on or near Western Washington University.

On Nov. 14, police investigated a groping, in which a student said a man grasped her breasts while she was walking from the school’s library.

She told police she elbowed the suspect, and he ran off. He was reported to have had light colored-colored skin.

Coates’s description is reportedly different than that of the man in the Nov. 14 incident.

There have been more than 20 reported crimes since July that are now under investigation -- including incidents of indecent exposure, serial flashing and assault.

Bellingham police do not believe all of the incidents are connected, though some of them may be.