According to Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst the past week’s criminal prosecution was “heavy.” There were 17 felony cases handled, which is a little less than other weeks this month, however, a large majority of those cases involved violence.

“Most of those were violent crimes or crimes against people, 10 fall into that category” Pabst said. “Five of those were family violence crimes, a bunch of strangulations, partner or family member assault and children were present in several of these. In one, the defendant shoved his ex to the ground in front of her kids. There were two non-family related violence cases. There was an assault on a neighbor. There was another one where the defendant was charged with assault after he pulled the hair of a security guard at a local concert.”

Also in the violent crime category were two very disturbing sexual assault cases. Though not technically a violent crime, there was also a felony endangerment case that put many lives at risk.

“There was a criminal endangerment that we charged that involved a high speed chase, speeds in excess of 116 miles per hour” Pabst said. “Several spike strips were deployed in an attempt to stop the chase. It also involved multiple victims, including other drivers, pedestrians and workers.”

There were also four theft cases, a trespassing case and a forgery case. One theft case involved a stolen bike found in a stolen truck that had been fitted with stolen license plates.

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