Missoula police officers have been busy the last few days, helping the town recover from Monday’s storm, so it was nice to catch a break last night when a man by the name of Ryan Payne broke into a car and then turned himself in. Missoula Police Patrol Sgt. Colin Rose says the call came in around 11:10 last night, August 11.

"911 got a call from a suspect that was prowling cars in the 1800 block of South 3rd street west," Rose said. "Somehow, he managed to lock himself in the trunk of the car he was prowling. After spending an unknown amount of time trying to get out, he had to call 911. We actually had to get a business owner to get a key to get the male out of the car.”

The male was 31 years old and admitted to breaking into the car. Rose says he’s never seen anything like this.

“He was charged with all misdemeanors: criminal trespass to property, criminal trespass to a vehicle, and misdemeanor criminal mischief for damage he did to the car while trying to get out," Rose said. "This, in almost 22 years of doing this, was a brand new occurrence.”

When asked how many cars the suspect is thought to have broken into, Rose said, “We don’t know, but we know for sure he broke into one.”