The man who opened fire in a Lakeside parking lot in 2023 received a pair of prison sentences earlier this year.

Prosecutors brought Luke Elliot Rutledge, 29, up on felony counts of criminal endangerment and attempted deliberate homicide following the Nov. 24, 2023, shooting at a combination convenience store, gas station, casino and bar on U.S. 93.  

Rutledge went on trial in September 2025 and while the jury found him guilty of criminal endangerment, it deadlocked on the attempted deliberate homicide charge.  

The case was headed for a second trial when Rutledge agreed to a plea deal in February. In exchange for a guilty plea to an amended charge of felony assault with a weapon, prosecutors agreed to recommend he receive 20 years in the Montana State Prison with 10 years suspended. For the criminal endangerment conviction, prosecutors were to recommend 10 years in prison with five suspended.  

Judge Heidi Ulbricht, who presided over the case, stuck to the terms of the deal at sentencing. She ordered the two sentences to run consecutively, gave Rutledge credit for 878 days of time served and directed him to pay $20,000 in restitution.  

Rutledge opened fire after yelling at a man in a parked truck in the lot, according to court documents. The man fled and sought refuge in the nearby bar.  

Seeing Rutledge climb into the now unoccupied truck, two bystanders hauled him out and held him on the ground until Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, according to court documents. The pair turned a gun over to the authorities that they said they found near the small of Rutledge’s back.  

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 406-758-4430 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.