'Man in tree' has criminal record, declines to show up for court hearing



SEATTLE -- The man in the tree is now the man in jail.

Cody Miller captured the nation’s attention after climbing a  tall sequoia in downtown Seattle on Tuesday morning and refusing to come down for more than 24 hours.

On Thursday, he refused to show up in front of a King County judge.

A judge determined there is probable cause to keep Miller in the King County Jail for investigation of malicious mischief and rescheduled his bail hearing for Friday afternoon. He has not been officially charged.

Police say Miller’s tree standoff started when Miller threw apples at  passing pedestrians. When officers arrived he refused to cooperate and during the saga threw branches and pine cones at firefighters and police officers, one of the cones cutting an officer’s earlobe, police said.

He also ripped limbs off the tree and a city arborist said he did an estimated $7,800 in damage to the tree, which, police said, is "protected."

When Miller finally decided to come down from the tree on Wednesday morning, reporters asked Seattle Police if he would face any charges. They said their priority was to get Miller help.

Police say Miller did get a mental evaluation on Wednesday. Miller was booked into jail shortly after his time with doctors.

Even before Tuesday’s climb to the top of the tree, police arrested Miller a few days prior for sitting down on a Seattle sidewalk and refusing to leave. Miller identified himself as Edward Cullen,  a character from the "Twilight" movies, and even told police that he was thinking of using a knife on them, police said.

Miller also has a criminal record in Oregon, where he was arrested for theft, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.