BILLINGS – Benjamin Joseph Poole is facing drug charges and criminal trespass after prosecutors say he broke into a home while two sisters hid in a locked bedroom.
Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, police received a call from a girl who said someone was breaking into their house on Stone Street.
The girl told police she and her sister were wrapping presents in a lower level room of the house while their parents were away at church. Police said the girl said she saw a man was standing in the kitchen, and she snuck downstairs to call the police and locked herself and her sister in a bedroom.
Court documents state Poole was found sitting at a kitchen table in the dark, covered in a hooded sweatshirt when police responded.
Officers with the Billings Police Department tried to get Poole to comply, but they eventually released a police dog on him.
The dog bit Poole in his upper right arm and took him to the ground. Poole then started kicking the dog.
Officers handcuffed Poole and found that he had several baggies of what appeared to be marijuana and meth in his possession.
When Poole was taken to a local hospital for care, he told hospital staff he is a “care provider” and that was why he has marijuana.
The girls at home told police they heard their dogs barking, and that’s how they were alerted to Poole inside the home.
Officer said the girls were scared and crying as they were interviewed by police.
Poole faces five misdemeanor charges and one felony charge of drug possession.
According to the Montana Department of Corrections, Poole has a felony conviction for burglary in Lewis & Clark County.
Story by Andrea Lutz, MTN News
