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Man arrested after Met Transit bus stolen in downtown Billings

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BILLINGS - One person was arrested Thursday afternoon after a Met Transit bus was stolen at the downtown transit center.

Police said the suspect drove off with two passengers in the bus and headed to the Heights but was blocked by police vehicles in the area of Airport Road and Bench Boulevard where he was arrested.

The passengers were unharmed, police said on Twitter.

The suspect was identified as Deavonta Belton, 28. Police said he faces several possible charges.

"The individual who was operating the bus appeared to know how to operate a bus," said Rusty Logan, MET Transit manager. "I'm not sure if he had been trained in it or not. You've kind of got to be familiar with the vehicle before you can actually get it to drive away."

Logan said the buses can be tracked and that helped officers.

"The bus did stop, pretty much immediately once law enforcement showed up," Logan said. "We're very fortunate the situation was not more severe than it was. We're definitely going to be taking the steps necessary to ensure that this doesn't happen again."