In 2002, a Jamaican woman named Una James came to Bellingham to search for her son, Lee Boyd Malvo, who had fallen under the influence of John Allen Muhammad. Bellingham Police alerted immigration authorities to James's presence; she and Malvo were arrested. Malvo and Muhammad would commit the Beltway sniper attacks later that year. An area immigration attorney commented that an immigrant going to the police for help and being arrested instead was common; the Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted that the arrest may have served to separate James and Malvo and draw Malvo closer to Muhammad.
