DULUTH — A man with a decades-long burglary history is accused of breaking into three homes in consecutive days, injuring four people.

Jeffery Scott Montana, 48, of Duluth, was arraigned Tuesday on five felony counts of

last week’s series of incidents in east Duluth.

The defendant, also known as Jeffery Undahl, had been out of prison for the past three months, according to court records.

The first incident was reported around 6:45 pm on November 4. An 80-year-old resident of the 200 block of West Kent Road told police he answered a knock on the door and was pushed to the ground by the suspect.

A complaint says Montana began rummaging through the home and demanding money before pointing a firearm at the victim. The resident described him as about 40-50 years old, bald or with sparse hair, wearing a black jacket and pants.

The second incident was reported around 8:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in the 1500 block of Vermilion Road. The complaint says Montana rang the doorbell and asked for a piece of paper to write down a phone number.

He then allegedly followed an 85-year-old resident into the house and hit him over the head with a “hard ball-type object”. The complaint says he demanded money and forced both the man and an 80-year-old woman into the basement, hitting them both in the head with the bat.

Gary Meader / Duluth Media Group

The male victim described the suspect as white, thin, approximately 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with short brown hair and dark clothing, carrying a brown canvas bag.

The latest incident occurred around 9 p.m. Nov. 6 in the 2500 block of East Second Street, where several witnesses reported hearing a 70-year-old woman outside screaming for help.

According to the complaint, the victim told police she was sitting on her couch when she saw the suspect, wearing black clothing and a ski mask, standing in her entryway. He approached her and asked for her purse. The woman ran out the front door but fell down the stairs while trying to escape.

Police said the first victim’s wallet was found near a smoke shop two days after that break-in. Surveillance video reportedly showed a man matching the suspect’s description in the area about 30 minutes after the Nov. 4 incident.

Meanwhile, a Duluth police analyst found a recording of a pawn shop transaction from Oct. 29 in which Montana was seen wearing the same clothes.

The complaint says investigators used the phone number he provided at the time to “ping” his cell phone, obtaining his recent location data.

The data allegedly placed Montana’s phone at each of the three crime scenes during the time frame in which the home invasions were reported.

Montana was taken into custody without incident at the Duluth Transportation Center on Thursday, November 7th. A search warrant executed at his apartment that same day turned up an Airsoft gun that the first victim had reported stolen.

Police said the three victims of the Kent and Vermilion Road incidents were taken to local hospitals for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Montana is charged with three counts of first-degree burglary and two counts of kidnapping. Judge Eric Hylden set bail at $300,000.

Police Chief Mike Ceynowa said in a video message to residents last week that the string of home invasions is “rare” in Duluth and that city, county and state resources have been deployed to identify the perpetrator.

“We’re a community that supports our police department, but they can’t be everywhere all the time,” said Mayor Roger Reinert. “We need you to be their eyes and ears. If something doesn’t feel right, if something doesn’t fit, if something seems unusual or suspicious — or, as I like to say, maybe your ‘Spidey sense’ is slipping — call 911.”

Montana has been convicted of robbery or burglary in at least five previous cases dating back to 1985, according to court records.

In one case in 1997, he broke into a house in the Denfeld neighborhood and stole a car and two guns while still on a prison work release program. In 2002, he was arrested after an 11-year-old caught him going through her mother’s purse in their Congdon Park home. He was accused in 2013 of

punching an 84-year-old woman in the face during a robbery

to a senior apartment building.

Other convictions on Montana’s record include theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing police, assault on a corrections officer,

escape from custody

and disorderly conduct.

His next court appearance is set for December 10. An Itasca County prosecutor is expected to handle the case because of a conflict in the St. Louis.

Tom Olsen has covered crime and the courts and the 8th Congressional District for the Duluth News Tribune since 2013. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth and a lifelong resident of the city. Readers can contact Olsen at 218-723-5333 or [email protected].