Missoula Crime Report: Three Stolen Cars This Week

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The Missoula County Attorney’s Office filed 16 new felony complaints this week, which is six more than last week and right around the weekly average. According to County Attorney Matt Jennings, there were five violent crimes.   

“We had one endangerment crime, which was related to drunk driving,” Jennings said. “We had four property crimes, five drug crimes, and one administrative crime which is a fugitive warrant. We had three stolen cars this week. We were getting a real spike of stolen cars during the COVID era and they've kind of dropped off a little bit but getting three in one week is quite a bit.” 

Before 2023 and the legislature changed the theft statute, Jennings said they used to have to determine the value of a car to see if it was a misdemeanor or what category of felony it would get applied to.  

“The legislature changed that to make all thefts of a light vehicle a felony,” Jennings said. “That is really helpful for us because we used to get a used car that was stolen, and we'd say it was over $1500 to reach a felony. All of a sudden, we're arguing over how many dents there were, the condition of the tires, and whether the windows rolled up and down to determine if it was a felony or misdemeanor.” 

Jennings said the impact of the victim not being able to go to work or take their kids to daycare was always difficult so he appreciates that the legislature made that change.  

“We don’t see a lot of thefts in Missoula that aren't tied to addiction and drugs,” Jennings said. “The reality is sober people don't steal other people's cars, people that are high do. So that's usually what we're trying to tackle when we do arrest somebody and charge them with a crime.” 

READ MORE: Missoula News - Crime Reports

Jennings said they also had a jury trial this week regarding tampering with evidence. 

“A mother wiped her daughter's phone as she was being investigated for a robbery and a sexual offense,” Jennings said. “It was a two-day trial and she was convicted of that. It's just really important that we're able to fully investigate crimes, that we get all the facts, that we know what happened to the underlying victim, and that evidence isn't destroyed intentionally like that. We don't always take those all the way to trial, especially when something's more ambiguous, but this was an important case and we are glad to get a successful outcome on that one.” 

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: