by Travis Mateer

When I start scrolling through the week’s posts to prepare for the podcast it can be surprising how much goes down in any given week in Zoom Town, and this week is no exception. Before getting into the week’s action, I’d like to thank the investigators and reporters who SHOULD be doing much of this work. Without your impressive inaction, I wouldn’t be so busy!

Below is a picture of a door I knocked on, but no one was home. Maybe that’s because Rasta Dave is facing attempted deliberate homicide charges for allegedly going apeshit and nearly killing his ex-girlfriend. If you don’t think Missoula’s housing crisis contributes to domestic violence, think again!

Here’s KGVO with more details about what led to David Winterburn getting additional charges put on him while he cools off (comes down, more likely) in jail:

On May 10, 2023, Missoula Police Department Officers responded to a report that a male had thrown a glass and then a couch off a balcony at a neighbor. The suspect was later identified as 60-year-old David Winterburn.

While police were responding, a second 911 caller reported that she could hear a woman yelling “Help me!” and the male was now attacking a female. An officer arrived and the second complainant pointed to the residence in the 700 block of Shakespeare. The officer ran to the front of the residence and could hear screaming that sounded like a fight between two parties.

Winterburn was ordered to come down the stairs. The bottom of the stairwell was barricaded with tables, countertops, and multiple large speakers. Winterburn was carrying a metal barstool and was told to put it down. He put the stool down and started coming down the stairs. However, he stopped before reaching the bottom.

What sounds like a pretty bad situation could have been much worse if the police weren’t called and able to respond relatively quickly. Here’s more from the article. My question is, how did Winterburn get outside?

The officer could hear a female yelling for help upstairs. Winterburn began to run back up the stairs toward the room where the female was. The officer discharged a taser to stop Winterburn, but the probes did not make contact. Winterburn entered a different room than the victim was in, shouted at the officer, and threw a metal chair down the stairs.

The female victim was able to walk down the stairs. Court documents indicate she was very distraught and said, “Oh my god, he almost killed me, you guys.” The female advised there were firearms in the house that Winterburn could have access to. Accordingly, police set up a perimeter and removed themselves from the residence. After the perimeter was set up, a nearby resident contacted law enforcement to advise that the male was hiding in his backyard behind a garage.

Winterburn was commanded to come out, which he eventually did. However, as officers got close to Winterburn, he took off running and ignored all commands to stop. Winterburn eventually tripped and fell. Winterburn rolled to his side and placed his hands near his stomach area, which was in close proximity to his un-searched pockets. An officer feared that Winterburn was reaching for a weapon. The officer struck Winterburn in the chest to force his hands away from his pockets. Winterburn was then restrained by police and arrested.

The article continues with the female victim describing why she was living in this house to begin with, and it was to help her ex establish the property as an AirBnB (emphasis mine):

Doe explained that Winterburn is her ex-husband. In March 2023, Winterburn asked Doe if she wanted to move into his residence to assist him in using the residence for an AirBnB.

After a couple of weeks, she said Winterburn started acting erratic and unstable. He started entering her room at night and trying to get in bed with her. He would leave when she asked, but it made her uncomfortable.

Winterburn then started having issues with other tenants in the home, including committing an alleged burglary that is currently pending in DC-23-283 and was committed on May 6, 2023. Winterburn was charged with felony burglary and was released on May 8, 2023.

On May 10, 2023, Winterburn allegedly entered Doe’s room and attacked her. During the attack, Winterburn also threatened to kill Doe multiple times. KGVO will not provide any further details about the alleged incident.

That last point of emphasis is curious. Why is KGVO making a big deal about NOT providing any further details about this alleged incident?

Well, this local journalist isn’t going to withhold details unless there is a good reason as I continue to investigate the broken criminal justice system in this town.

If you would like to help me make this community safer with MORE information about what’s going on, not less, then you can help by supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or making a donation at my about page.

This coming week I will have more information on the mysterious death of Joey Thompson, so stay tuned, and thanks for reading/listening!