Footprints in Snow Help Missoula Police Nab Marijuana Burglary Suspect
Snow flurries on Saturday night, December 1, helped play a critical role in the arrest of man suspected of burglarizing a medical marijuana dispensary in Missoula. According to Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh, police arrived at a location on East Broadway when a citizen reported hearing glass shatter just after 1:00 a.m.
"The first officer on the scene met with a complainant and began to look around the area until they found a broken window in a business in the 400 block of East Broadway, the business happened to be a medical marijuana dispensary," Welsh said. "It appeared to the officers that entrance to the building had been made, however there was no one inside the business at the time. "
Though no one was in the business, there were footprints leading up to the broken window in the fresh snow, and footprints that led away as well. Luckily for police, the suspect didn't wipe his feet off when he got home either.
"The officers physically followed the footprints to an apartment building in the 400 block of South 5th Street East and they found snow in the hallway of a upper-level floor that led them to a specific apartment, A suspect was located hiding in a bathroom at this apartment and he is identified as 27-year-old Victor Gray.
Gray is being held on a misdemeanor theft charge and two felony charges: one for burglarizing the medical marijuana dispensary and another for tampering with physical evidence. Welsh says police believe Gray may be a suspect in other similar cases.