Arrest warrant issued in Dually horse-theft case

A Fort Pierre man will be charged in the theft of Dually, a barrel racing rodeo horse, taken from the Stanley County Fairgrounds early on the morning of July 5.

Flint David Dahl, 22, is being charged with two alternate counts of grand theft, which are class four felonies, and inhumane treatment of an animal, which is a misdemeanor.

Magistrate Judge Mark Smith signed a warrant for Dahl’s arrest this morning and a $5,000 cash bond was set. As of late this morning, Dahl had not yet been arrested. When that happens, there is no word on when his first court appearance may be.

Stanley County State’s Attorney Tom P. Maher has filed a 16-page affidavit, including four pages of photo exhibits, that establishes probable cause for Dahl’s arrest in the theft of the horse, owned by rodeo participant Wendy Halwig of Mitchell.

Maher says it is possible that other people could also be charged.

The case has generated much rumor, innuendo and gossip. The document indicates that both the Stanley County Sheriff’s Office and the Division of Criminal Investigation interviewed about 20 people who are identified as eyewitnesses. Those interviewed reported that the horse was first taken from a pen and ridden briefly during an early morning party in the Stanley County Fairgrounds. Other witnesses said they later saw Dahl riding the horse through town.

Prosecutors say the horse was taken sometime in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 5, from the Stanley County Fairgrounds.

In the affidavit, several witnesses tell investigators that they saw Dahl on the horse at various places within town. Some witnesses say the horse appeared to have been injured and many also said that it appeared Dahl had been drinking. Some of those interviewed thought that the horse belonged to Dahl.

Fort Pierre resident Bobbi Huck called 9-1-1 at 7:09 a.m. that day, saying that Dahl had damaged her vehicle, parked at 711 Two River Roads. Huck reported that Dahl was on a horse that had kicked her vehicle. Huck also reported horse hair and blood on the vehicle. Huck later said she had noticed Flint Dahl holding a horse in front of the downtown saddle shop, owned by David Dahl, the father of the suspect. She said the horse appeared to be injured.

David Dahl said he told Flint to put the horse in the pen behind the city utilities shop. The horse was found there by Halwig and a Stanley County Deputy Sheriff, who reported that he noticed the horse was badly injured.

David Dahl, in a later interview with investigators, said Flint did not appear to be intoxicated, that the horse had apparently received the burns after getting tangled up in a rope and that his son had not mistreated the horse.

In an interview with officers later that Sunday, Flint Dahl admitted taking the horse. He said earlier at the fairgrounds, he saw Seth Norman and another person, later identified as Lonny Lesmeister, riding the horse. Dahl told investigators that Norman had told him that it was his horse – something Norman later denied.

Flint Dahl said he took the horse to the residence at 711 Two Rivers to use the bathroom. Dahl said he tied the horse to a tree located near a car and did not notice the horse damage the vehicle. Dahl said he later put the horse in the pen as suggested by his father.

The Dahls later offered to pay for the damage to the Huck vehicle.

Some witnesses said they saw Lesmeister and Norman with Dually at the Stanley County Fairgrounds. Lesmeister admitted that he rode the horse briefly in the area, but returned Dually to a catch pen and that there was nothing wrong with the animal. Norman said he did not ride the horse or throw rocks at Dually to make him buck as was alleged by another witness.

Among the others interviewed was Halwig and Dr. Steve Tornberg, the veterinarian who cared for Dually.

Tornberg said the horse had suffered rope burns, minor lacerations, a quarter crack in the right hoof and sore ligaments. According to the documents, Tornberg said he has never seen “a horse with that many or as bad of rope burns in 30 years.”

Stanley County Deputy Sheriff Mike Rothschadl wrote in the affidavit that there was probable cause to charge Flint Dahl because people had seen him riding a horse in Fort Pierre that morning and the injuries described on the horse Dahl was riding were consistent with the ones found on Dually.

The horse is continuing to recover.