Man charged with stealing SUV, wrecking during pursuit

A Box Elder man who allegedly robbed someone of an AK-47 rifle at gunpoint back in March is recently accused of stealing a car in Great Falls and leading tribal police on a chase before crashing into a pole.

Dakota Blackelk Houle, born in 1996, is charged with felony theft.

He is scheduled to appear in District Court in Havre Monday to enter a plea on the new charges and for a hearing on a petition to revoke his release on previous charges.

Charging court documents say Rocky Boy Police called the Hill County Sheriff's Department dispatcher Nov. 16 asking for assistance with a pursuit that crossed from the reservation into the county.

While en route to the scene, the responding deputies learned the fleeing SUV ran into a power pole and was rendered inoperable. The driver, later identified as Houle, ran from the scene but was caught by Rocky Boy police officers before deputies arrived on the scene. The female passenger, injured in the wreck, was receiving medical attention, documents say.

The passenger said Houle had picked her up from Great Falls earlier that day and that she didn't know who the vehicle belonged to or how Houle had obtained it.

Deputies confirmed a separate District Court warrant for Houle existed and arrested him.

Deputies provided information about the wrecked SUV, a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder, to dispatch to find out to whom it belonged. The Pathfinder, estimated value $3,540, was reported stolen out of Great Falls, documents say. The vehicle was seized, reported stolen and towed to the Havre Police Department.

The next day, a deputy spoke to the owner of the Pathfinder.

The owner said he reported his Pathfinder stolen Nov. 9. He said he knew nothing about a sawed-off shotgun that was found in plain view after the pursuit. The owner permitted the deputy to search the vehicle. Documents say that, in addition to the Remington 870 Magnum shotgun that was found, was also an ammunition magazine, a bag of ammunition and a black cellphone.

The deputy reported the back of the SUV had been painted white to try and conceal its identity. The attached license plate was registered to another name, other than the owner, and as belonging to a 1992 Chevrolet, documents say.

Houle pleaded not guilty April 24 to charges of felony robbery and assault with a weapon as well as misdemeanor theft, and he is listed on the Hill County Detention Center jail roster.