Son Breaks Court Order, Assaults Mother in Her Missoula Home

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On February 17, 2026, Missoula Police Department officers were dispatched to a reported burglary on Charlo Street. 63-year-old Jane Doe reported that her son, 39-year-old Donovan Bailey, had hit her with her walker and broke her phone. She is paralyzed from the waist down and confined to her bed most of the time. She is mostly blind and relies on others for food and basic needs. She had not eaten for two days because her caretaker was unavailable and she could not get out of bed.  

Doe explained that over the last few days, she could hear someone in her living room. She would call out, but did not get an answer. On the night of the 16th, she got into her wheelchair to see what was going on, and she found Donovan sleeping on a camping mat. Donovan is prohibited from being in her house by her direction and order of a Court. He has another open case where she was the victim.  

She told him to leave, but Donovan became very angry and began yelling that she owed him money. Doe noticed that Donovan had also been eating the limited food she had out of her refrigerator, which had been donated by a church. She went back to her bedroom and hid her purse under her bed before getting back in bed. 

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Donovan followed Doe to the bedroom and continued yelling at her that she owed him money. Doe was lying in bed when she took out her phone and told him she was calling the police. Donovan grabbed the phone, broke it, and threw it into another room. An officer saw the phone with a shattered screen. Donovan then grabbed Doe’s walker, which has four wheels and a seat. He slammed the walker down on Doe’s legs and stomach as she was defenseless. The walker is approximately 15-20 pounds and is made of metal. 

Donovan yelled at her that he wanted the money from her purse, but she would not give it to him. Donovan then punched her in the chest. The force of the punch knocked her down from a sitting position, so she was lying flat on the bed again. The officer noticed her legs were swollen and her skin was discolored on her calves and shins.  

Donovan also took Doe’s caretaker’s phone, which was in another room. Doe later found this phone in a garbage can. When Donovan was leaving, he punched a hole in a wall with his fist. Doe was able to eventually get into her wheelchair. She locked her door, found the caretaker’s phone, but it was locked. Her delay in reporting was due to her being unable to unlock the caretaker’s phone until she figured out she could call 911 without unlocking it the next morning.  

READ MORE: Missoula News - Crime Reports

On February 18, at approximately 12:04 PM, Missoula Pretrial called the police to report that Donovan was in their lobby in the courthouse. Officers responded and arrested him. While being searched incident to arrest, a used syringe was found on his person. 

Donovan is currently being charged with felony aggravated burglary, felony partner or family member assault, and criminal destruction of or tampering with a communication device. His bond was set at $50,000. 

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