A Flathead County jury last week was unwilling to convict a man accused of opening fire in a Lakeside parking lot in 2023 of attempted deliberate homicide, but found him guilty of felony criminal endangerment.  

Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Luke Elliot Rutledge, 28, following a Nov. 24, 2023 shooting at a combination convenience store, gas station, casino and bar off U.S. 93. He pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment in Flathead County District Court in December of that year.

The case went to trial last week and was in the hands of the jury about mid-morning Sept. 12. They returned at 4:51 p.m. with a guilty verdict on the criminal endangerment charge, but told Judge Heidi Ulbricht that they were deadlocked on the attempted deliberate homicide charge. 

A poll of jurors showed that five of them viewed Rutledge as not guilty of attempted deliberate homicide, leading to a mistrial on the charge.  

Deputy County Attorney Ashley Frechette prosecuted the case while defense attorney Liam Gallagher represented Rutledge. 

Prosecutors had accused Rutledge of yelling at a man in a parked truck before opening fire at the vehicle on Nov. 24, 2023. The man in the truck fled and took shelter inside a nearby bar, court documents said.  

Seeing Rutledge hop into the now empty truck, a pair of bystanders hauled him out and held him to the ground until deputies arrived, according to court documents. They turned over a gun they said they found by the small of Rutledge's back to investigators, court documents alleged.  

Gallagher told the Inter Lake via email that the physical evidence in the case, "specifically the first five gunshots fired at close range, showed a deliberate attempt to aim toward the tire and away from the driver's compartment." 

Reached by phone on Monday, County Attorney Travis Ahner said that his office plans to try Rutledge again on the attempted deliberate homicide charge. He declined to otherwise comment on the case.  

Rutledge remains in the county jail with bail set at $200,000. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected]. 

    Luke Elliot Rutledge. (Photo courtesy the Flathead County Sheriff's Office)