SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced that a county jury convicted Cambria resident and previously convicted felon Marc Steele, 49, on five counts of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition. 

In January, law enforcement responded to calls of a man behaving suspiciously and pointing an assault weapon at a bystander whose vehicle was being assisted by a tow truck in Morro Bay.

The investigation led to the contact of the defendant and the discovery and seizure of multiple firearms and ammunition from his possession. One of Steele’s previous convictions is considered a serious and/or violent ‘strike’ offense under California’s Three Strikes law. 

California law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms or ammunition. The defendant has been convicted of seven prior felonies, including, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, vehicle theft, recklessly evading of a police officer, and possession of a controlled substance for sale.

“Felony convictions have consequences and one of them is that felons cannot possess firearms because we do not want criminals using firearms to commit their crimes in our communities,” Dow said. “One way we protect the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens to possess firearms is working hard to keep guns out of the hands of convicted criminals who would use them to inflict harm on others.”

Unlawfully owning or possessing a firearm is a crime. If you want to find out if you can lawfully possess a firearm, for a $20 fee, the California Attorney General will conduct a Firearm Eligibility Check and tell a person in writing if he or she is eligible to possess a firearm.

Steele faces a maximum of eight years and eight months when he is sentenced on Sept. 18, in Department 8 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, the Honorable Catherine J. Swysen presiding.

The case was investigated by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and the Morro Bay Police Department, and was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Hunter Starr.