GREAT FALLS – A Harlem man who rolled his car and killed a passenger while drunkenly fleeing from police was sentenced today to 34 months and 15 days in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.Dezmond Joseph Dillon, 20, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of involuntary manslaughter. U.S. District Judge William W.
Mercer presided.The government alleged in court documents that while driving drunk, Dillon led police on a chase that ended when he rolled his car, killing one of his passengers. The incident began when Fort Belknap Tribal Police were notified on July 11, 2024, that a car was seen driving recklessly at over 100 mph in Harlem. Dillon was later identified as the driver. When officers responded to the call, Dillon took off, refusing to yield as police pursued him across town.
Dillon pulled down a dirt road, struck a pole and then turned the car around. He returned back down the dirt road, lost control of the car, and rolled down an embankment. When law enforcement arrived, they found Dillon and two of his passengers severely injured from the wreck. A third passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.
One of the passengers was later interviewed about the wreck and she told investigators that Dillon was already drunk when he picked her up. When the police tried to pull the vehicle over, she remembered begging Dillon to stop and let her out. After the wreck, when the car had come to a stop, she was lying underneath the passenger who had been killed. The U.S.
Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI and Fort Belknap Tribal Police conducted the investigation.