On September 15, 2022, at approximately 12:42 a.m., Missoula Police Department officers were dispatched to the Poverello Center for a report of a rock thrown through a window. About five minutes before the window broke, 41-year-old Virinder Brar had been told he would not be allowed to stay at the center that night.  

Brar had tried to redeem a “Poverello Lottery Ticket” to stay there, but was denied. Brar became angry and stormed off. A staff person then heard a loud crash, went around a corner and saw Brar walking away from the Poverello. Police Public Information Officer Lydia Arnold picks up the story. 

“Missoula Police officers responded to the Poverello Center after Virinder Brar threw a rock through a big window, causing it to shatter,” Arnold said. “On scene, witnesses told officers that Brar was upset because he was denied staying at the Poverello for the evening. Brar had also been throwing rocks at sleeping guests. He was also yelling and screaming at them. Witnesses were able to provide officers with Brar’s name, clothing description, and the direction of travel he left on.” 

According to court documents, two people who were outside the Poverello told officers that Brar had been asking people for “crystal” and when they said no, he started throwing rocks at people and saying he was going to kill them. 

Another staff member found the rock that was thrown through the window. The window was large and double-paned. The rock traveled through the exterior window and also caused an interior window to spiderweb when it hit it. The rock was also wrapped in the lottery ticket that Brar had tried to redeem. 

“Officers located Brar near the Poverello Center and took him into custody,” Arnold said. “Officers took photos of the scene. This case is still under investigation with the Missoula Police Department Detective Division. This is the fourth time Brar has been arrested by the Missoula Police Department since September 3, 2022. Two of the previous arrests were for felony charges and one was for a misdemeanor offense.” 

Poverello staff advised that they had just replaced a smaller, but similar exterior window, and it cost approximately $1,500. The interior window was estimated to cost a couple of hundred dollars to replace. 

As a result, Brar is currently being charged with felony criminal mischief. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.

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