GHAM HERALD

LYNDEN — A transient from the Maple Falls area is in jail after allegedly trying to stab a police officer who was arresting him on a child molestation warrant.

Daniel J. Stephens, 48, was the passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by a Lynden Police Department officer on the 400 block of Birch Bay-Lynden Road at about noon Thursday, deputy chief John Billester said.

As the officer was contacting the driver, Stephens got out of the vehicle and began wandering away from the scene, Billester said. When the officer confronted Stephens, he allegedly gave a fake name.

As the officer began to put Stephens under arrest for obstructing a law enforcement officer, Stephens refused to take his hands out of his pockets and then allegedly took out a knife. Stephens was subdued by the officer and a nearby citizen who witnessed the incident after Stephens allegedly swung at the officer with the knife more than once.

Stephens is wanted by the Washington state Department of Corrections for first-degree child molestation. He was booked into Whatcom County Jail for the outstanding warrant and on suspicion of second-degree assault.