A 62 year-old transient, identified as Thomas Smith, is in the Missoula County Jail charged with felony criminal mischief.

Missoula Police Department Public Information Officer Travis Welsh said the first calls came in to 9-1-1 early Friday morning.

“Starting at about 5:30 this morning, Missoula police officers began receiving reports of broken windows in the downtown area,” said Welsh. “Complainants reported finding windows smashed, apparently with a rock. They were able to produce video surveillance of some of the damage being caused.”

Welsh said police were able to find the suspect and quickly place him under arrest.

“They quickly identified a suspect, a male transient that we have been dealing with for the last few days,” he said. “We learned that he was down at the Poverello Center in the 1100 block of West Broadway, and they had called to ask us to remove him. The officer made contact with him there. The evidence that they had gathered from the scene combined with unsolicited statements that he had made led officers to place him under arrest for the damage.”

Smith is in the Missoula County Jail, and will be seen in justice court on Friday afternoon.

Welsh said no one was injured while the windows were being smashed, and there was no immediate estimate of the damage, although to be a felony, the damage must exceed $1,500.

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