Inmate blamed for causing a stink at justice center

The Daily Inter Lake

Emergency dispatchers and other essential law-enforcement personnel had to plug their noses and keep working Sunday afternoon after the Flathead Justice Center was flooded with raw sewage.

The culprit was a male prisoner at the county detention center who flushed a blanket down a jail toilet sometime before noon, causing an overflow that damaged several areas of the justice center on the main floor and in the basement, chief detention officer Dave Hutton said.

It was a smelly situation, said a 911 dispatcher, adding that it was disconcerting watching the sewage flow down the hallway next to the dispatch center. Professional cleaners were called in and had the mess cleaned up by late afternoon.

Hutton said it will be up to the county attorney to file charges against the inmate. The incident was logged as felony criminal mischief.