Authorities issued an arrest warrant for a man convicted of scratching vehicles parked in downtown Whitefish last summer after he stopped checking in with probation and parole earlier this year.  

Anthony Robert King, 31, of Portland, Oregon last corresponded with his Kalispell-based probation and parole officer on Jan. 28, telling them that he was staying with family. King has since vanished, according to a report filed in Flathead County District Court in February. 

King earned a suspended three-year sentence to the state Department of Corrections in December after pleading guilty to one count of felony criminal mischief. Judge Dan Wilson, who presided over the case, gave King credit for 174 days of time served and ordered him to pay $11,404.40 in restitution for the summertime vandalism spree.  

Following sentencing in Flathead County, authorities took King to the detention facility in Multnomah County, Oregon, where he was facing pending criminal cases. In late January, King texted his probation and parole officer that he had been released from jail and living with family in Portland.  

But attempts to reach King over the ensuing days proved fruitless, according to a violation report filed in Flathead County District Court. An address that King gave for his mother's home later turned out to be a post office address for homeless people, court documents said.  

Attempts to track King down through the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office and a restorative justice program he was enrolled in also were unsuccessful, wrote Catrina Olson, his probation and parole officer.  

Deeming King an absconder, Olson requested he be brought back to court. Olson wrote that King appeared to be "experiencing significant mental health challenges." 

Olson recommended he "be screened through a comprehensive mental health evaluation to determine appropriate placement and ensure that his supervision needs are addressed safely and effectively." 

Prosecutors filed a petition to revoke King's suspended sentence in Flathead County District Court on Feb. 18.  

King was newly released from custody in Multnomah County when he damaged vehicles in Whitefish on June 28, according to court documents. After receiving multiple reports of damaged vehicles, officers got a call from a passerby who described seeing an individual walk from car to car, scratching them with an object as he went, before ducking into the train station.  

Whitefish Police officers found and arrested King there, court documents said. King allegedly admitted to using a nickel to scratch the vehicles. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 406-758-4430 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.