Lolo Homeowner asks for High Bail for Man who Terrorized Family

49 year-old Robert Washburn is in the Missoula County Jail on $250,000 bond charged with five felonies and several misdemeanors after allegedly terrorizing a Lolo family at their home on Sunday.

The homeowner received permission from Judge Alex Beal to address the court regarding Washburn’s bail.

“The gentleman stood at the edge of my roof and asked me if I was ‘ready for this’,” he said. “My family was in the house so I told him to bring it. He reached into his waistband as if to pull out a gun and that moment I assumed I was going to be shot, but then he pointed his finger at me and said ‘bang’.”

Al Jenkins said his wife and family were inside the home when Washburn drove over the lawn and deliberately crashed into the rear deck stairs.

“My wife estimated that he was probably going 60,” he said. “He drove full force into my house and crashed into the stairs of my deck. He ran up the stairs of my deck, kicked at the glass doors trying to get inside where my wife, my niece, my son and my daughter were inside all while repeatedly screaming at them.”

Jenkins described what he saw when he returned home after responded to the frantic call from his niece that someone was trying to deliberately crash into her vehicle.

“When I got home he was kicking as hard as he could into the end of my house, trying to break through the wall. He started throwing sections of my rain gutter at me and then grabbed a large section of the rain gutter and jumped back to my deck. I grabbed a large metal sprinkler, the only thing I could find to defend myself, and went after him. I took a swing at him and he took a swing at me and I was mostly able to block that. I swung the sprinkler at him and was able to gain leverage and to hold him there.”

Jenkins said at that point, help arrived with a firearm.

“My niece came out of the house with my handgun and I put it to his head and we still struggled,” he said. “I was able to push him to the ground. The only legible words that he said were ‘are you ready for this?’ I eventually shoved him to the ground and my niece came back with her firearm and we had him on the ground with two handguns when authorities arrived.”

Jenkins then directly addressed Judge Beal on the matter of bail.

“I cannot stress to you enough the level of trauma that went through my house,” he said. “Trauma was triggered in a way that I can’t begin to tell you. My daughter believed that she was hearing me being killed over the telephone. I would ask for no leniency and no considerations of any kind except for the safety of the community. My family was victimized in a way that nobody should be. If he were to be on the streets this community would be in danger. I would ask the court to impose the largest bail possible for the safety of the community.”

Before setting bail, Judge Beal addressed Washburn who was appearing via video from the Missoula County Jail.

“Sir, you have one hell of a guardian angel that you’re not dead,” said Judge Beal. I think that $250,000 is low for this incident, however bail will be set at $250,000.”

Washburn’s preliminary hearing was set for November 29.