Missoula Man Steals Car With Passenger Still Inside and Crashes

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On January 2, 2023, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Missoula Police Department Officers were dispatched to an area in the 800 block of W. Broadway. Dispatch reported that a motor vehicle theft had just occurred. The caller witnessed a male get into a white passenger car and crash it into another SUV. Dispatch could hear the caller yelling for a male to sit down. 

Officers responded to the scene and saw that the suspect's vehicle was stopped approximately at the intersection of West Broadway and Scott Street. According to court documents, an officer detained and identified the male suspect as 20-year-old Raven Kutch. The officers observed two additional males on the scene and obtained statements from them.  

The first male was identified as EG. EG advised that he was seated in the passenger seat of a white Honda Accord that was parked just outside the south entrance to Missoula Fresh Market. EG said he was simply in the car waiting for his girlfriend who was still inside the store. EG then motioned towards Kutch and stated that he jumped into the driver's seat and immediately started driving off.  

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EG said Kutch accelerated quickly to a speed of approximately 20 miles an hour in the parking lot. EG said Kutch turned westbound down a parking aisle, but rather than continuing straight, Kutch veered into the back corner of an unoccupied black SUV. Upon crashing, Kutch immediately fled westbound on foot. EG stated that he was uninjured in the crash, but that he punched Kutch in the head in an attempt to get him to stop driving.  

A crash investigation ensued, and Kutch was placed under arrest. The investigation determined the private party sale value of the Honda Accord was approximately $1,700. After Kutch was placed under arrest, an officer performed a search incident to arrest where they noted a small, pointed object in Kutch’s left pocket. Another officer assisted in the search and pulled out the object which turned out to be a bent spoon with burnt residue on it. The officer noted from his training and experience that spoons such as this with residue on it would typically be used to heat and ingest dangerous drugs.  

Additionally, the officer discovered a pill crusher with a green top containing white residue alongside a clear glass pipe with burnt residue upon it. Officers suspected each of these items to have been used to ingest dangerous drugs. Each of the items were seized and subsequently inventoried at the Missoula Police Department pending transport to the Montana State Crime Lab for chemical analysis. 

Kutch is currently being charged with felony criminal endangerment, felony theft, and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.