Missoula Crime Report: Burglar Charged With Stealing Toilet Paper

The Missoula County Attorney’s Office filed 11 new criminal complaints this week. County Attorney Kirsten Pabst said two of those cases involved intimate partner violence.

“In one, we charged a man with intimidation and stalking,” Pabst said. “In the other, it was aggravated assault and strangulation. We charged two endangerment crimes. One individual was charged with two counts of criminal endangerment. Another individual was charged with felony DUI, which was his fourth or subsequent offense.”

Pabst said her office also charged two property crimes.

“One individual was charged with burglary and theft,” Pabst said. “The allegation is that he took a space heater and a pack of toilet paper. Another individual was charged with theft and forgery. There were four drug cases and they all involved methamphetamine. In one of them, the defendant also allegedly possessed scheduled pills and a handgun.”

According to Pabst, one person was charged with obstructing a local health officer.

“The director of environmental health had allegedly been working with this defendant in an attempt to get him to self-quarantine, per the governor’s order,” Pabst said. “He became upset, told her he would not comply, and that he was going to tie up all the phone lines at the health department as a matter of protest, causing a major disruption to the operations of the department.”

When it comes to enforcement, Pabst said their primary goal is to get people in compliance. They start with education and then informal discussion, but that doesn’t always work. If that doesn’t work, Pabst said they offer a warning and sometimes end up having to file an official complaint. Pabst said 99% of people want to do the right thing in order to keep themselves and the community safe.