Missoula Crime Report: Multiple DUI’s From UM Commencement

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - It was a busy week for law enforcement, in fact tying the record for felony arrests according to Missoula County Attorney Matt Jennings who spoke to our listeners on Friday’s Talk Back show.

“It was a busy week this week in Missoula County,” began Jennings. “We charged 21 felony complaints and that is tied with our highest average of the year. Of the 21 felonies that we charged, eight of those were for violent crimes and that is a pretty high number for the year. We've only had I think one week that was higher than that about a month ago. We had three endangerment crimes, usually those involving driving, usually under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and putting other people at risk of death or serious bodily injury."

It was a Record Tying Week for Felony Crimes in Missoula

Jennings then described the violent crimes that occurred last week.

“In our category of violent crime, we had five domestic violence incidents,” he said. “That is pretty high, with some really troubling and tragic activity this week. We really want folks to seek help before things deteriorate. We know alcohol and drugs are usually involved in that violence. There are things that family, friends and those involved in relationships can do to make sure that disagreements or tension in a relationship don’t end up in a violent situation because we will prosecute that, and we have very little tolerance for somebody getting hurt.”

Underlying the felony arrests, Jennings was also troubled about the number of DUI arrests that occurred after the UM Commencement ceremonies on Saturday.

Jennings was Concerned about DUI's Following UM's Commencement

“Last weekend was UM graduation, and folks were out celebrating,” he said. “On Sunday morning, we had eight DUIs in custody in our jail, and those are only the DUIs that occurred out in the county or arrests by Highway Patrol. That doesn't even include a list of within the city limits that Missoula police may have arrested.”

Deeply concerned about the increasing number of DUIs in Missoula, Jennings offered common sense guidelines to keep everyone safe on the road.

READ MORE: Impaired Driver Caught Going 102 MPH on US Highway 93 in Missoula

Jennings said all DUIs are Prosecuted to the Fullest Extent of the Law

“When you're going out or when you're going to celebrate, make a plan beforehand, make sure you know who a sober driver can be,” he said. “Maybe take an Uber if you can, or figure out where you're going to stay so you don't even have to make that decision. It's a lot easier to avoid that problem. At the end of the night, if those keys aren't even in your pocket, or if your car isn't even there, then you know you're not going to be put in that situation of thinking, well, maybe I'm okay, but you're actually not.”

Jennings emphasized the point that each drunk driving incident will be prosecuted with no exceptions.

The Missoula County Attorney’s Office provides a weekly crime report every Friday morning at 9:00 on Talk Back. You can listen to Jennings’ full report below: