Steele charged in March 16 shooting, remains in hospital
The Cascade County Attorney’s Office filed charges this week against Dustin Steele in connection with the March 16 shooting in the 600 block of 17th Avenue South.
Steele, 43, remains in the hospital with gunshot wounds and will be taken into custody once he’s released, according to Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki.
Once a person is in custody, the county is responsible for the cost of their medical care and supervision.
Steele is charged with three felony counts of assault on a peace officer and a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief.
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According to court documents filed on March 23, Steele’s mother called 911 around 7:50 p.m. March 16 to report that Steele was extremely paranoid and upset all day.
She told dispatchers that her son had been released from prison in July 2025 and had recently moved in with her at Grandview Terrace mobile home park.
Steele’s mother reported that he had been “ransacking the residence and attempted to start a fire that was quickly extinguished,” turning over a table and throwing things, according to court documents.
Officers arrived in about six minutes, parking about a block away due to the situation.
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As officers were approaching, the mother exited the residence and told officers that Steele had a weapon, possibly a sword, and that he was displaying it or using it while damaging the residence without her consent.
Steele’s mother told officers that she believed he had makeshift gun that he made with PVC pipes or curtain rods, according to court documents.
Officers ensured the mother was safe, then three officers approached the unit. When they were about 50 yards away, Steele came into view between his and the neighboring unit with what appeared to be an AR-15 weapon in his hands, according to court documents.
Steele’s mother said she heard him say something like “Come on,” to the officers, who ordered him to drop the weapon.
He did not, pointing it at the three officers, who fired, striking him multiple times, according to court documents.
Steele moved to the stoop/porch area of the neighboring unit and remained there as first aid was rendered. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital.
Officers executed a search warrant on Steele’s unit, finding it to be “severely ransacked,” with tables in the kitchen area and living room turned over, broken glass, broken flowerpots and broken mirrors on the floor and scattered throughout the unit, according to court documents.
In the bedrooms, both beds were flipped or turned on their side and a rear bedroom window appeared to have been taken off the hinges and was on the ground in pieces.
A detective found writing on the walls that appeared to be written by Steele, including his mother’s name with “f*** you die you did this,” according to court documents.
On March 23, a detective talked to Steele’s mother to get the approximate dollar amount of property damage, but she said most of it was old and not worth much. She said most of the damage was the cost of cleaning, according to court documents.
The investigation is ongoing.
The night of the shooting, Lt. Matt Fleming of the Great Falls Police Department said officers had not been injured and that GFPD had requested assistance from the Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.
Steele was released from federal prison in August 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons database.
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He had been serving a sentence on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to federal court documents.
In that case, he was sentenced in 2014 to a total of 135 months in federal prison with four years of supervision to follow.
Steele started his supervision period in January 2024 and by June 2024 had violations filed in federal court.
In June 2024, his probation officer wrote “the defendant has been incarcerated most of his adult life. In the past, the defendant did not care about anybody or himself and did what he wanted, regardless of the consequences. Since being
on supervision and for the first time in his life, he obtained a checking account, received his driver’s license and purchased a car in his name. The defendant reports he recently went through a break-up with his girlfriend and was struggling. He will re-engage with his mental health counselor and will see Teresa Mouser for mental health counseling. The defendant will continue to be drug tested on a random basis. At this time, it is respectfully recommended the defendant’s release be continued. Any further violations will be immediately reported to the court.”
In November 2024, a federal judge remanded Steele back to federal prison for 12 months.
In that case, Steele and Christopher James Michelotti employed other people in Great Falls in 2013 to sell methamphetamine for them and at one point one man owed Michelotti about $700 for a drug debt, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In August 2013, Michelotti and Steele began looking for the man and the money. The man agreed to meet Michelotti in a restaurant parking lot, but found him and Steele, who forced the man into a blue Chevy pickup and demanded the money. Steele had a handgun and Michelotti wore brass knuckles with a knife, according to court documents.
Michelotti and Steele picked up another man at a local casino who also had a drug debt.
The first man said he could get money from his girlfriend and after the men left her house, she alerted police to the kidnapping.
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The man who’d been picked up at the casino escaped and Steele called a friend to come pick them up, saying they were running from the cops and had hostages, according to court documents.
Police located the truck and arrested Steele and Michelotti, finding a backpack with meth and a stolen gun. Detectives also searched a known stash house used by Michelotti, finding more meth.
In 2003, Steele was sentenced in federal court on a charge of unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm. In that case, the drug being used was meth, according to court records.
