$1 million bail for rape suspect

ANNA WALTERS
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BELLINGHAM — A Whatcom Superior Court judge set bail at $1 million Tuesday for rape suspect Hector Serano Salinas.

Salinas, 36, is charged with three counts of firstdegree rape while armed with a deadly weapon. He is accused of raping a woman in Maritime Heritage Park early Monday morning.

According to charging documents read by Whatcom County Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Sawyer, police officers were flagged down by a woman at 2 a.m. Monday near the post office at 315 Prospect St. The woman reported she had been raped at knifepoint at her campsite — a sleeping bag on a nearby cement bench — three times by a man she described as Hispanic and wearing a black stocking cap.

The victim told police she was dragged down the stairs into Maritime Heritage Park and raped again.

The victim was transported to St. Joseph Hospital for medical attention.

Using a police dog, an officer tracked the suspect and found him under a bridge by Whatcom Creek. The suspect ran from police, who chased and caught him. He allegedly had a black stocking cap in his backpack.

Salinas has a criminal background, including an outstanding arrest warrant for second-degree assault; and a conviction for firstdegree robbery.

According to Sawyer, who cited the National Crime Information Center, Salinas had several aliases, a felony drug conviction in California, and had been arrested several times for illegal entry into the U.S. and deported to Mexico.

His arraignment is scheduled for July 11.

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