27 year-old Derek Pyette is in the Missoula County Jail charged with felony strangulation after allegedly chasing his wife in a parking lot and then strangling her.

Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh said the incident occurred just before midnight on Saturday in the 1700 Block of Cooley Street, when a resident in the neighborhood called 9-1-1 to report the disturbance between a male and a female.

“The complainant stated that he had heard an argument and looked out his window to see a male chasing a female into the residence from a car in the parking lot,” said Sergeant Welsh. “The complainant also said he could also hear a female yelling ‘get off of me’.”

When officers arrived they witnessed the female running from the residence with the male chasing her, so they immediately stopped the couple and began their investigation that involved the married couple.

“The officers arrested 27 year-old Derek Pyette for felony strangulation of a partner or family member, as well as destruction of a communications device,” he said. “During the course of the disturbance Mr. Pyette had been fighting with his wife to such a degree that at one point he limited her ability to exchange air, and also had kept her cell phone from her.”

Pyette was placed in the Missoula County Jail and is scheduled to appear in Missoula Justice Court to face the felony charge of strangulation.

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