Man Fights With Missoula Best Buy Employees During Theft, Arrested for Robbery

Missoula police were called to another robbery this week, after employees attempted to stop a man from stealing items off the shelves at Best Buy electronics on North Reserve.

"The report was that the suspect was fighting with employees and tried to get away, the officers got there relatively quickly and were able to take the man into custody without incident once they identified themselves to him," Said Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh. "The suspect identified himself as 42-year-old William Switzer."

When officers arrived, they noticed a man held down in a chair and that employees had received scratches and bruises after a struggle.

"The employees confronted [Switzer] as he attempted to leave the store with the merchandise. He denied having taken anything and tried to push his way past the employees. They had to physically restrain him and eventually they did have to force him into a chair where they recovered the merchandise. He again, tried to force his way out of the store and had to be restrained.

This is not Switzer’s first run-in with the law. He was on probation till 2018 for issuing a bad check. The robbery charge will likely add more years to that sentence.