By Denver Pratt / The Bellingham Herald
BELLINGHAM — A Lynnwood woman will spend nearly a decade in prison for robbing a Bellingham woman she had recently met and stabbing her in the throat while she slept in July 2022.
Johanna Paola Nonog, 23, was sentenced May 13 in Whatcom County Superior Court to nine years in prison, with three years probation, for first-degree assault, for which Nonog entered a guilty plea the same day.
In exchange for Nonog’s guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the attempted second-degree murder and first-degree robbery charges originally filed against Nonog in late July 2022, court records show. The attorneys presented a joint recommendation of a 108-month prison sentence for Nonog, which a judge ultimately followed.
The court also made a special finding that reasonable grounds exist to believe Nonog is mentally ill and that her illness likely influenced the crime. Because of this finding, Nonog will be required to undergo a mental health examination and comply with any recommended treatment.
The court made an additional special finding that in committing first-degree assault, Nonog “used force or means likely to result in death or intended to kill the victim,” which requires her to be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, court documents state.
A no-contact order was also put in place between Nonog and the victim until May 2044.
At 4 a.m. on July 20, 2022, Bellingham police were called to an apartment in the 400 block of 31st Street for the report of an assault with a knife.
The victim, then 22, told police she awoke to Nonog stabbing her in the neck, according to court documents.
The victim tried to fight off Nonog and get her out of the apartment, according to police. Nonog kicked down the door, court documents state.
The victim was able to get away from Nonog and get help from a neighbor who called 911. The victim told police she also believed Nonog stole her wallet, phone and keys before leaving the apartment.
Nonog and the victim had recently met. Nonog was reportedly staying at the victim’s apartment that evening.
Bellingham police and a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office police dog found Nonog in a nearby parking lot. Nonog had two cellphones with her, one of which belonged to the victim, court records state.
The victim suffered a 2-inch laceration to the left side of her neck, as well as several smaller cuts to her chin and face. The victim also had cuts on her hand, which appeared to be from trying to fight off Nonog’s attack, the court records state.
The victim was taken by ambulance to PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s hospital in Bellingham, where she underwent surgery, according to court records.
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