Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information about the suspect’s initial court appearance.
FERNDALE, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – More details have been released following the fatal shooting in Ferndale from last week.
The Ferndale Police Department has identified the suspected shooter as 48-year-old Michael S. Daniels Jr. and the victim as 32-year-old Jordan Cernich.
The department said in a news release that Daniels went to his ex-wife’s residence on Ferndale Terrace around 3 a.m. Friday, May 8, in violation of a no-contact order and threatened her with a handgun.
Cernich, who was dating Daniels’ ex-wife and living in the home, returned to find the two in an altercation. The two men then fought, and Cernich hit Daniels in the head with an unknown object before Daniels shot him several times. Cernich was taken to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Two juveniles who had been sleeping at the residence woke up and one of them confronted Daniels before being thrown off.
Daniels drove away but was found at his residence on the Lummi Reservation several hours later and taken into custody.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges, including first-degree murder, during his arraignment in Whatcom County Superior Court on Monday, May 11. He remains at the Whatcom County Jail without bail.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
