Man With Outstanding Warrants Gets Caught With Meth at the Jail

At around 9:15 p.m. on Monday, a Missoula Police officer responded to the report of a disturbance in the 600 block of Eaton Street. The officer was familiar with the address and knew one of the occupants had an outstanding arrest warrant. Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh explains.

“On his way to the residence, he encountered a male who was walking away from the area,” Welsh said. “As he drew closer, he noticed the male turned his head away in an attempt to avoid making eye contact or to allow the officer to see his face. The officer stopped his vehicle and made contact with the man who identified himself as 25-year-old Gabriel Despaigne.”

The officer learned that Despaigne had a $10,000 warrant and a couple other warrants. Despaigne was placed under arrest and he was transported to the Missoula County Detention Facility. During a routine inventory search, officers located a small amount of methamphetamine in Despaigne’s possession. Despaigne is now being charged with one count of felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs.

One of Despaigne’s outstanding warrants was from an incident that occurred about seven months ago in Missoula. He was arrested for stealing a vehicle that was warming up unattended. He was also involved in a high speed chase that occurred about a week later.