Meet kirsten

OUR MISSOULA COUNTY ATTORNEY

Kirsten Pabst is the Missoula County Attorney with a demonstrated record of being tough on crime, and smart on crime. Kirsten and her team work together with our community partners to bring criminals to justice and to protect Missoula County’s resources. Kirsten’s flagship Special Victims Unit has been recognized by the Attorney General as a leader in Montana and the nation. Kirsten’s innovative programs continue to win national awards and have saved Missoula County residents countless dollars. Read more…


“Congratulations on receiving the National Association of Counties Achievement Award for your leadership on the Secondary Trauma Group. Montana is lucky to have Kirsten serving county employees who work with victims. Keep up the good work.”
– Senator Jon Tester

"Kirsten's leadership has taken the County Attorney's Office to a whole new level of service, professionalism and cost-savings for the county. She and her litigation team are hard-working, responsive public servants."

- Commissioner Rowley -

“Congratulations on receiving the National Association of Counties Achievement Award for your leadership on the Secondary Trauma Group. Montana is lucky to have Kirsten serving county employees who work with victims. Keep up the good work.”

- Senator Jon Tester -

“The Missoula County Attorney’s Office represents the model for the rest of the country, not just Montana. . . Members of the Missoula community should be proud of their county attorney team for the great work that’s been done.”

- MT Attorney General Tim Fox -

INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP

KIRSTEN’S AWARD WINNING PROGRAMS

TRAUMA PROGRAM

Kirsten Pabst joined clinical social worker Andrew Laue, LCSW, and created the first of its kind secondary trauma program for prosecutors, designed to educate staff on the impact of trauma and provide tools to manage the effects…

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MODEL SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT

Under Kirsten’s leadership, the Missoula SVU has grown from an historical single person to a trained team of 8 full time employees, including 4 attorneys, a supervisor, investigator, paralegal and victim witness coordinator. The team has…

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CRIMINAL MEDIATION PROGRAM

In an effort to extend limited resources, Kirsten designed and implemented Montana’s first formal criminal mediation program to focus resources on the most dangerous criminals…

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BEHIND BARS

KEEPING DANGEROUS OFFENDERS OFF THE STREETS

Emmanuel Gomez

Deliberate Homicide

Emmanuel Gomez hit, kicked, and beat his girlfriend for months before he murdered her and dumped her body in Pattee Canyon in sub-freezing temperatures...

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Becky Richards

Deliberate Homicide

At her parole hearing this year, Seeley Lake woman Becky Lynn Richards finally admitted she shot her husband Jim after 25 years of maintaining her innocence...

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Scott Price & Sarah McKnight

Homicide & Attempted Homicide

Price and McKnight went on a murderous crime-spree stabbing a Missoula woman in a grocery store parking lot in broad daylight and then killing another...

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Cole Francisco

Sexual offender

Francisco was arrested after following several young girls to and from their bus stops and exposing himself. He was charged with multiple counts and Pabst...

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Thomas Evered

Child Pornography & Molestation

In 2006, County Attorney Pabst prosecuted Evered for filming child pornography while he molested two young boys. Pabst worked together with the US...

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Donald Town

Level III Predatory Sexual Offender

Town is a Level III predatory sexual offender, later charged with possession of child pornography in Missoula County. Town was sentenced to...

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Jeffory Lafield

DUI - 9th Offense

LaField was convicted of DUI—NINTH offense. Because of his long record of driving while impaired, LaField was sentenced as a Persistent Felony Offender...

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Thomas Englert

Deliberate Homicide

In 1983, Englert was convicted of Deliberate Homicide. After an elderly woman befriended Englert, he broke into her home, tried to suffocate her, raped...

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Markus Kaarma

Deliberate Homicide

Kaarma was prosecuted for shooting a teenager who was trespassing in Kaarma’s garage. Kaarma believed he was justified in killing the boy, but the jury disagreed...

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Erik Nugent

predatory child molester

47 year-old Erik Nugent is a predatory child molester who remains behind bars after being prosecuted for drugging and sexually assaulting girls as young...

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