Homeless man commits crime to escape brutal cold

A man believed to be homeless shattered windows at two government buildings in Mississippi — so he wouldn’t have to spend the night out on the frigid streets, authorities said.

The man, who was not publicly identified, was arrested after smashing windows on the first floor of the Adam🅠s County Courthouse early Thursday in🔯 Natchez, Sheriff Travis Patten .

He had just been told by sheriff’s deputies that he couldn’t be housed overnight — when temperatures dipped to as low as 21 degrees — in the county jail due to liability concerns, Patten said.

“He said, ‘I will make you lock me up then,’” the sheriff recalled.

The man proceeded to walk out and smash the courthouse windows with his elbow before returning to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, where he used a table inside a lobby to break more gla💖ss. He was then taken into custody, Patten said.

“It shows the need for some kind of shelter for the homeless,” the sheriff said. “If there was a shelter, he would not have to have committed a crime to have been able to get out of the cold and could have alsꦐo had a h🌃ot meal.”

A message seeking 🅠additional comment from Patten was not immediately returned early Friday.

Deputies cannot take anyone into custody un🐭l🐓ess they have been arrested or have been ordered to be detained, Patten said.

“We can get sued,” he said. “The situation shows the community needs to hav🦩e a real conversation about homelessness in the area.”