Law roundup: Always pay the painter

Upset at apparently not receiving payment for a house painting job in a timely fashion, the contractor returned to the work site to splash “pay the painter” all over a home. The homeowner contacted the Columbia Falls Police Department, passing the contractor’s name along and describing the worker to investigators as disgruntled.

Someone found a pitbull in their office. The animal, discovered with a collar but no tags, was later reunited with its owner.

A group of high school aged kids riding around Eighth Street in a red Chevrolet truck roused the ire of a nearby resident, who told police they spotted beer cans on the vehicle’s bench seat.

Officers were called out to handle a possibly injured deer found resting in a yard near 11th Street West. The person who alerted police described the animal as potentially suffering from a broken right leg, though it still appeared mobile. Arriving officers found no obvious signs of injury and left the animal alone.

Officers stickered a recreational vehicle left padlocked in an area parking lot. The owner of the lot requested a law enforcement intervention after earlier attempts to move the occupants along came up short.

An argument prompted a police response, though officers later determined the disagreement was verbal only.

Authorities tracking down smoke coming off a two story commercial building found a smoldering planter.

A worker came across a power hammer that looked familiar in an area pawn shop. He told police his power hammer had recently gone missing from a job site. Officers checked out the pawn shop and employees remembered their encounter with the man. They said he had not appeared to be deceptive, but emphasized that the person who pawned the tool was a respected longtime customer. Moreover, the tool had come to the shop late last year.

A stranded motorist asked for help getting home so that they could secure their inhaler. The motorist, who had asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, had attempted to walk home unsuccessfully.

Worried about missing a court date, a man contacted police trying to look up a citation, possibly for a noise violation.

A father called 911 asking for officers to evict his daughter. Dispatchers informed the man that arranging for papers to be served was not a reason to call 911, but offered to arrange for an officer to contact him. His daughter called 911 soon after asking for a mental health evaluation on her father as he decided to evict her out of the blue.

Concerned a group of kids playing ding dong ditch would bother the wrong person, a Diane Road resident contacted authorities looking for an extra patrol of the area. The youths, described as about 13 years old, hit the door hard enough to open the day prior.

A woman suffered a bite to the hand after intervening in a fight between a group of dogs.

Officers reminded a group of high schoolers hanging out about 11:16 p.m. of park hours before moving them along.