Missoula Teen Accused of Brandishing ‘Box-Cutter’ During Robbery
19-year-old Joshua Rennie was arrested by Missoula Police on Monday afternoon after some store employees reported theft and threatening behavior.
"Officers were called to an incident reported at a department store in the 2400 block of North Reserve street," said Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh. "The complainant there was loss prevention, which said that they had encountered a male in the store and were monitoring him as he was apparently grabbing items off the shelf and concealing them, in what they described as an attempt to leave the store without paying for the items."
Welsh says the items were put into a backpack, but was unable to specify the value of the items. The felony Robbery charges in this case are from what was taken to be threatening behavior.
"The employee reported that the male suspect became aware of him and took out an edged weapon, which he described as a 'box-cutter type knife' and was flicking the blade while making eye-contact with the employee," Welsh said. "The employee stopped following the male, however, the suspect turned and began following him."
Welsh says the suspect was later arrested without any physical violence, however, Rennie is also facing charges for obstructing a peace officer, likely for refusing to reveal the contents of his backpack.