Missoula Crime Report: a Hatchet and Axe Were Both Used This Week
The Missoula County Attorney’s Office charged 18 new criminal complaints this week, which is above average. County Attorney Kirsten Pabst has been gone for the past two weeks, but she returned on Friday to provide her weekly crime report.
“Seven of those were violent crimes,” Pabst said. “One was a PFMA third offense and one was an assault with a weapon. In one case, the defendant was asked to leave a homeless encampment and refused. She grabbed a hatchet, pushed a law enforcement officer, and assumed a combative stance. The law enforcement officer was able to disarm her.”
According to Pabst, they also charged two aggravated assaults and another assault with a weapon case.
“Two of the defendants were a father and daughter team,” Pabst said. “They engaged a pedestrian in a verbal altercation after nearly striking the pedestrian with the driver’s vehicle. The defendant exited the vehicle and the fight turned physical. The victim was pretty severely beaten. We also charged another case in which a defendant and a juvenile got in a verbal altercation. The defendant then grabbed an axe and started approaching the juvenile with the axe.”
In another case, the defendant shot his gun in the direction of a moving car because they were driving too fast for his liking, allegedly.
“We also charged a sexual assault involving a minor and three criminal endangerment cases, two of which involved crashes,” Pabst said. “In the property crimes category, we charged three new cases. In one of them, a burglary, the defendant allegedly stole a wallet and used it to purchase night vision goggles from Walmart. Items from other burglaries were found on his property.”
In addition, Pabst said her office charged two drug cases. One involved large amounts of methamphetamine. Another involved a woman who was passed out in a public restroom. She was allegedly under the influence with her child and in possession of drugs.
You can listen to Pabst's full report below: