Boot prints in the snow helped put a man in jail for his alleged role in the burglary of a marijuana dispensary last month in Troy.

Kody M. Hamilton is accused of burglary, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and theft. The burglary and mischief charges are felonies while the trespass and theft counts are misdemeanors.

Hamilton is accused of stealing more than $6,300 worth of marijuana products and causing about $5,000 in damage to the building.

The defendant is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in Lincoln County Justice Court at 1 p.m. Wednesday. He is being held on $75,000 bail in the county detention center.

According to the probable cause statement by Troy Police Chief Travis Miller, he was called to a dispensary on Callahan Creek Road Jan. 7 for a reported break-in.

Miller spoke to two store employees and they showed him where an air conditioning unit was pulled out of a wall in a back room, leaving a hole to the outside. The chief also watched a security camera footage and saw a man in a gray hoodie, blue jeans and cowboy boots. He wore a mask and gloves.

He was reportedly accompanied by another man, who was not identified in the report. He wore black clothing and a mask. He stayed outside while the man in the gray hoodie handed him boxes of items.

Miller then photographed the damage. 

He then followed shoe and boot prints in the snow for a quarter of a mile to the driveway of 388 Callahan Creek Road. He recorded video and photos of the prints and measured them.

Miller’s investigation led him to another store that had video footage of the man in the gray hoodie from earlier that day. The owner of the dispensary posted a photo of the men on social media.

Later that day, Miller received multiple phone calls from people who wanted to remain anonymous. Then, two men, both known to law enforcement, came to the police station and spoke to Miller.

They said they knew who were the men were and identified them by name to police. Hamilton was one man identified in the complaint while the other was only ID’d as “I. S.”

The men said they were afraid of Hamilton because he carries a gun.

Three days later, on Jan. 10, Chief Miller got a phone call from a man who said he had Snap Chat screen shots of Hamilton, who was using a different name, trying to sell items from the store. The man emailed the photos to the officer. 

Miller then got a search warrant for the residence at 388 Callahan Creek Road. He, county sheriff deputies and U.S. Forest Service officers went to the home. They searched it, arrested Hamilton and found several items from the dispensary in Hamilton’s room.

A conviction for felony burglary may result in a maximum term of 20 years in the Montana State Prison. A conviction on the mischief charge may result in a 10-year term in state prison.