Sandpoint woman arrested on vandalism charges

A 20-year-old Sandpoint woman was arrested on multiple charges of malicious injury to property earlier this month after police claim she vandalized several Sandpoint properties.

On Aug. 14, Sandpoint Police received reports of a woman throwing rocks and damaging property. When officers arrived on scene, they found several businesses’ planter boxes broken around the corner of First Avenue and Church Street.

“Two of these establishments had broken windows with glass shattered all over the sidewalk,” an officer wrote in the probable cause affidavit.

While officers were investigating, they received another report of a woman “throwing rocks and acting ‘manic’” on Cedar Street, according to court records. Officers arrived on scene and confronted the woman, who identified herself as Isabel Francis. She allegedly admitted to officers that she had been throwing rocks “because I feel like it,” court records contend.

Francis allegedly also admitted to breaking the businesses’ windows and also told officers she had broken a window on her dad’s vehicle, which she said she was using to get around. According to the probable cause affidavit, Francis allegedly told officers she planned on “busting” more windows as well.

When asked which businesses she had broken the windows of, court records contend Francis allegedly said she vandalized Larson’s, Grace and Joy, Zero Point and the Panida Theater. Zero Point contacted officers and told them the estimated damages totaled about $3,000.

Francis was arrested on five counts of malicious injury to property. Her bail for one of those counts was set at $10,000, with a subsequent $5,000 each for the four remaining charges.

A preliminary hearing date was scheduled for Aug. 23.