LYNDEN - A 29-year-old man was accused of causing several thousand dollars worth of damage to a gate at the Lynden Police Department station early Wednesday, Nov. 9.

About 1:50 a.m., police were responding to a call when officers spotted a man, later identified as James Nicholas Karis, shouting obscenities from just outside the station's gate, said Police Chief Jack Foster.

Officers ignored Karis and went to the call, Foster said, but when they returned they discovered the keycard reader that opens the gate had been badly damaged. Wires were exposed and arcing, and the chain-link gate was not working correctly.

It did not appear that a tool or weapon had been used, Foster said.

Less than a half hour later, police were called to a report of a disoriented man, matching Karis' description, who was shouting and swearing near the intersection of Kok Road and Guide Meridian.

When police arrived, Karis was acting in a way that officers felt threatened, Foster said, so he was shot with a Taser and arrested.

An officer recognized him as the same man from the station, and Karis admitted he'd been in that area at the time, Foster said.

He was booked into jail on investigation of first-degree malicious mischief, a Class B felony.