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Secret Service thanks chief for efforts
REARDAN — Police Chief Andy Manke was expecting to enjoy the local firework show on July 4. Instead, he ended up making a felony arrest that got him recognition from the Secret Service.
Manke observed Stephen A. Dalin, 34, driving a white 1995 Geo Metro eastbound with expired license plates, according to the arrest report.
“The back window was broken out,” Manke said. “A $3,000 mountain bike in the hatchback that just looked out of place, and the tabs were expired in March. So I was like ‘I’m gonna stop this car.’”
Dahlin wouldn’t provide Manke with a driver’s license, registration or proof of insurance. He also kept providing false names, including Jerome A. Simons, according to the report.
Dahlin had a female passenger in the car, who requested to leave the vehicle as Dahlin struggled to remember his own name. Manke said he had no cause to detain her, so he allowed her to leave. Both Dahlin and the woman were wearing masks.
According to the report, after the female left the scene, Manke pulled Dahlin out of the vehicle as Lincoln County Sergeant Kody Becker arrived to provide backup.
“I said, ‘look, in my experience, people that don’t give me their true identity typically have arrest warrants and they don’t want to go to jail,’” Manke said.
Dahlin then reportedly provided his true identity, which returned several felony warrants out of Spokane and a felony warrant out of Arizona.
Manke said Dahlin was wanted in Spokane County for dealing methamphetamine, counterfeiting and trafficking stolen property. He then reportedly fled to Arizona “where he was doing the same stuff,” Manke said.
Dahlin was caught and was pending trial in Arizona when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He then attempted to evade arrest by going to Mexico, where Manke said he was counterfeiting pesos.
“He had bought a bunch of meth from the cartel,” Manke said. “The (Secret Service) didn’t say whether he had paid the cartel with counterfeit pesos or not, but he was captured (and) arrested by the Federales in Mexico for trying to move meth and counterfeiting pesos.”
Dahlin was then deported to Arizona and was once again awaiting trial when he disappeared off the feds’ radar.
“The Secret Service had presumed that he was killed by the cartel, because he had just fallen off the radar,” Manke said. “This guy had had so much law enforcement contact and then, all of a sudden, is just gone.”
Turns out, the cartel hadn’t killed Dahlin, whose next run-in with the law was in Reardan with Manke.
Manke arrested Dahlin and cited him for driving without identification, insurance and having expired registration, according to the arrest report. Manke transported Dahlin to Spokane County Jail, where he remains booked on his warrants without bond.
The Secret Service then reached out to Manke to thank him for locating and arresting Dahlin. An agent came to Reardan on July 13 to thank Manke personally, and they enjoyed lunch at The SpeedTrap Taphouse.
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