Two Arrested in Missoula Incident, One Accused of Trying to Hit Store Employee With Car
Two men were arrested on Halloween morning after Missoula police received a call from department store employees near the 3500 block of Mullan Road. Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh says the incident began when a store employee questioned a man with a suspicious cart full of un-bagged items.
"[The employee] approached the male, who was now starting to load the items into a car that was parked in the parking lot and asked him to produce a receipt for the items to prove that he had in-fact paid for them," Welsh said. "The male said that he would provide a receipt, however, he continued to load the car with items in the cart and at one point he jumped in the car leaving some items in the cart."
The store employee attempted to prevent the theft and it was at this point that the theft turned into robbery.
"The employee attempted to put shopping carts behind the vehicle to block it in, however, the vehicle was able to back out, driven by a second male, who then, according to the complainant, purposefully drove at him as he left the parking lot, forcing the employee to jump out of the way to avoid being hit," Welsh said.
31-year-old David Moorse is facing a robbery charge and is thought to have been the driver of the vehicle based on photos taken by the store employee. 26-year-old Kristopher Lehto, was charged with misdemeanor theft and released, but he was later apprehended that same day by Missoula Sheriff’s Deputies for Aggravated DUI.