Seattle's "man in tree" charged in sequoia standoff

SEATTLE --Authorities say the25-hour saga of a man who refused to come down from a giant sequoia tree in downtown Seattle was "an incalculable waste of time and services."

Cody Lee Miller was formally charged Monday with malicious mischief and assault after he climbed to the top of the 90-foot tree on March 22 and remained there for about 25 hours, ignoring police efforts to coax him down.

He threw apples and branches at responders. The drama sparked intense interest on social media, with new Twitter accounts and the hashtag #ManInTree trending.

Authorities were alerted to an unidentified man in the tree around 11 a.m. local time and he was still clinging to its branches the next day.

He scrambled down toward the bottom at one point but soon made his way back up, snapping branches along the way.

CBS affiliate KIRO reported that a crowd gathered around the tree next to the Macy's building when fire crews first responded.

People initially weren't sure if the man was awake, but then a KIRO Chopper video showed him throwing an object at medics.

KIRO reported that downtown Seattle streets were closed for the incident as officials struggled for a solution to get him out of there.

Court documents say the standoff caused about $8,000 in damage to the tree. Efforts to find an attorney for Miller were not immediately successful.

Miller is scheduled to be arraigned April 11. He's being held on $50,000 bail. If he makes bail he's ordered to have no contact with the tree.