At around 3:00 a.m. Wednesday, someone called Missoula police and reported suspicious persons in the 200 block of North Travois. The caller said they saw a male and female walking around the area and shining flashlights. The complainant believed that they may have been looking for items that they could possibly take. Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh explains.

“The officers responded to the area, encountered a female and identified her as 45-year-old Tiffany Randles,” Welsh said. “Through the course of their investigation, officers learned that the male involved was related to Randles and that there had been an argument, presumably while they were in the car, and that the two of them got out of the car and went their separate ways. Randles claimed she was looking for a friend’s house and had gotten lost.”

According to Welsh, the responding officers were familiar with Randles and knew she was on probation. They also noticed that she was carrying an open container of alcohol. Officer contacted her probation officer who requested an arrest for probation violation.

“The officers soon learned that Randles was also in possession of marijuana, a small amount of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia,” Welsh said. “When they stood her up to place her under arrest, they noticed she had attempted to discard a checkbook. Upon examination, they determined that the checkbook did not belong to Randles. However, they noticed several checks made out to her that were allegedly signed by the account holder.”

Officers investigated further and determined that the checkbook appeared to have been stolen and that the checks had been forged. Randles was taken to jail and is currently being held for eight separate charges, including three felonies.