BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A man may soon find himself back in the Whatcom County Courthouse on official business after deputies say he broke in and vandalized the building last weekend.

The sheriff’s office says deputies initially responded Sunday morning, January 8th, to a report that the lock on the employee access stairwell had been tampered with.

They checked the building but did not find anyone.

Surveillance cameras later detected a person in the building and deputies began clearing rooms on the fourth floor.

They found judges robes arranged into a shrine in the employee hallway and food crumbs near a stairwell behind judges’ chambers.

A man identified as 35-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez was found sleeping in the stairwell.

He had court computer equipment, two machetes and a small amount of methamphetamine in his bag.

It is estimated that he caused over $4,300 in damage to doors and ate some food he found in the employee break room.