Missoula Crime Report: Big Fentanyl Bust, ‘One Pill Can Kill’
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The Missoula County Attorney’s Office charged 18 new criminal complaints last week, which is double what they charged last week and higher than the weekly average. According to County Attorney Kirsten Pabst, six were violent crimes or crimes against persons.
“One was a robbery and an alleged assault against the defendant's mother,” Pabst said. “There was a PFMA third offense and a stalking case. We also charged an assault on a peace officer and assault with a weapon. The alleged weapon in that case was bear spray. There was a violation of an order of protection where the defendant was allegedly contacting a prior victim from prison and was putting pressure on that victim.”
In the endangerment category, there was one criminal endangerment case.
“In that case, the defendant allegedly doused vehicles with gasoline and ignited them in close vicinity to residents,” Pabst said. “We charged five property crimes, which included three theft cases, one criminal mischief involving slashed tires, and false claims to a public agency. In that case, the allegation was that the defendant was drawing unemployment benefits while he was working.”
Pabst said her office also charged three new drug cases.
“One was a meth case and two involved methamphetamine plus fentanyl,” Pabst said. “In one of those cases, the allegation is that the defendant possessed more than 1,500 pills. As you know, the saying goes ‘one pill can kill’, which is why we are taking such a hardline stance against the possession or distribution of fentanyl right now.”
Finally, Pabst said they charged two fugitives from justice and one bail jumping case.
“We were also ready to roll on a trial against a man named Bergeron,” Pabst said. “Andrea Haney, one of my top prosecutors, and Brittany Williams, another top prosecutor, had been working on it. In that case, the allegation was that the defendant punched a police officer in the eye with a closed fist. We were ready to go for trial, but he ended up pleading guilty to assault on a peace officer.”
You can listen to Pabst’s full report below: