Man allegedly threatens bus driver

Published 9:10 am Sunday, February 22, 2026

ILWACO — A man was arrested by the Long Beach Police Department after allegedly causing quite a ruckus around Ilwaco.

The first incident began on Feb. 11 at around 5:55 p.m. when multiple callers reported a man making threats.

The first alleged victim was a bus driver for Pacific Transit, followed by an alleged female victim at the Townwood Apartments; police were unable to locate her. In the incidents, the culprit was identified as a male driving a black Subaru with a German shepherd.

According to court documents, the agency received another report on Feb. 12 at about 10 a.m. that the man passed a transit vehicle in Seaview near 40th and State Route 103 and yelled obscenities.

The bus driver was able to get a partial plate on the vehicle.

Almost five hours later, the alleged victim spotted the man again and called 911 to report he was back to his odd behavior. By the time officers arrived, the elusive man fled the area and could not be located.

The driver told the officers that the man threatened to kill him.

LBPD Officer Miranda West was eventually able to locate the suspect vehicle, which matched the partial plate provided earlier in the day, near Spruce and Pearl streets. Officers converged on the vehicle and were able to arrest the man without incident.

He was identified as Dimitris C. Kourelis, 39.

According to the first alleged victim, on Feb. 11, he had finished his lunch on a bus and stepped outside “to stretch.” Kourelis reportedly walked up to him and asked “who runs the show,” to which the driver replied “me.”

“The suspect then told the victim that he had a hit on him and that he was going to smash his head in,” LBPD Chief Flint Wright said in court documents. “The suspect then asked where Nick was. The victim said he didn’t know a Nick. The suspect calmed down some. Then quickly the suspect told him that he had a hit on the victim and that he was going to bash his head in.”

“The victim said that he took the threats seriously, while the suspect was making these threats he was reaching behind his back as if he was reaching for a weapon. The victim then went into the bus and closed the bus door. The suspect then came up to the bus and was cussing and calling the victim a b—h for not fighting him.”

“The suspect then pulled out his p—s and proceeded to urinate everywhere,” Wright added.

Kourelis then reportedly left toward the Ilwaco Market and confronted the bus again at Black Lake and then again on Feb. 12 at a “bus stop at 165 Howerton [Ave.].”

“The victim stated that he felt threatened on the 11th to the point that he was considering risking his job to subdue the suspect,” Wright said.

“The victim stated that he felt that the [suspect] may have had a gun because of the way he was reaching behind him. The victim stated that he thought that the suspect was going to shoot and kill him,” Wright added.

Kourelis was booked into the Pacific County Jail for felony harassment, disorderly conduct, and indecent exposure. He is being held without bail pending a competency evaluation.