A Lolo family underwent a terrifying ordeal on Sunday morning, when a man who was unknown to them, driving a late-model Audi, rammed their vehicle, ran into their porch stairs, climbed onto the roof and attempted to gain entry to the home.

Missoula County Sheriff Sergeant Ryan Prather described what happened.

“We had a female call for help,” began Prather. “She was driving her vehicle down Highway 93 South when a male subject intentionally hit her vehicle. She tried to get away from him, but he followed her back to a residence where she was staying, and at the residence a disturbance ensued.”

Prather described what happened when the victim got to the residence.

“The male subject had climbed up on top of her roof and when he was confronted, he started throwing objects and ended up assaulting one of the people at the residence,” he said. “He was taken into custody shortly thereafter.”

Prather said the homeowner confronted the intruder with his firearm.

“The homeowner was protecting himself and the occupants of the home,” he said. “He didn’t know what was going on. This guy followed her back to the residence where she was staying. He drove his car through their yard and basically hit their stairs going up to their residence. He actually hit the residence.”

Prather said the suspect is a man in his late forties or early fifties and was clearly under the influence of a narcotic.

“Those folks are OK,” he said. “They can fix whatever damage was done and nobody really got injured.”

The Missoula County Jail roster lists 49 year-old Robert Lewis Washburn as having been arrested on Sunday morning and charged with three felonies, including assault with a weapon, criminal endangerment as well as misdemeanors including criminal mischief, obstructing a peace officer, DUI second offense, assault, and an extra jurisdictional warrant.

Washburn will appear in Missoula Justice Court on Monday, November 18.