BILLINGS — A felon who escaped from a pre-release center, committed a drive-by shooting at a house in Billings, and then led law enforcement on a chase in a stolen vehicle before crashing was sentenced Thursday to three years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conviction of a firearms crime, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in a press release.
Azuriah Austin Stallcup, 20 of Billings, pleaded guilty in February to prohibited person in possession of firearm and ammunition.
In court documents, federal prosecutors alleged that on July 6, 2023, Stallcup was a wanted escapee from a Butte pre-release center when he traveled to Billings, obtained a stolen .40-caliber firearm and repeatedly fired it from his stolen vehicle into a house.
Residential surveillance cameras identified the vehicle and Stallcup. Billings Police Department officers tracked Stallcup the next day to a house. When officers attempted to arrest Stallcup as he was leaving in the stolen vehicle, Stallcup rammed one of the police cars, plowed into a nearby civilian vehicle and fled on foot.
Officers chased Stallcup and saw him throw a pistol over a fence. Police officers, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, arrested Stallcup after being tackled by the owner of the car he had just hit.
Officers recovered a .40-caliber pistol. Stallcup had been convicted of assault with a weapon, a felony, in Montana District Court and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
