In the early morning hours of January 23, 2022, a gathering at the American Legion building in Ferndale, Washington, turned tragic, ending the life of 28-year-old Hispanic male, Jose Esquivel Hernandez. An argument broke out after Hernandez, who was attending a child's birthday party, denied entry to Miguel Angel Miranda and two other individuals. The confrontation moved to the parking lot where one of Miranda's companions allegedly urged him to shoot Hernandez.
Miranda then pulled out a handgun and shot Hernandez twice in the torso.
Police were called to the scene at approximately 12:15 a.m. and found Hernandez on the sidewalk with bystanders attempting to provide first aid. Paramedics transported him to St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, but he succumbed to his injuries and died. Witnesses described a smaller, white passenger car fleeing the area and heading northbound on Interstate 5.
The Ferndale Police Department quickly identified 23-year-old Miguel Angel Miranda as the suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of homicide. Miranda, a known gang member with a prior felony conviction, was considered armed and dangerous. He fled the state after the shooting, but was apprehended in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 28, 2022, after the car he was believed to be driving was spotted in Kingman, Arizona. Phoenix police, working with information from the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, located and arrested Miranda at a known gang house.
Miranda was extradited back to Whatcom County and booked into the county jail on February 9, 2022. He initially pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. Later, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and witness tampering. The witness tampering charge stemmed from an incident where Miranda released unredacted police reports in an attempt to intimidate a key witness. On November 23, 2022, a Whatcom County Superior Court judge sentenced Miranda to 21 years and two months in prison, the maximum for his crimes. Two other individuals, Marcelo Tate Rodriguez and Kimberly Trujillo Mendoza, were also charged with rendering criminal assistance for helping Miranda escape.
