A 26-year-old man arrested in Spokane, Washington last October and currently incarcerated in Sanders County is now also facing three felony counts in Flathead County, all related to a multi-state crime spree spanning several months last year.
Daniel Forrest Haslage was arrested at the Apple Tree Inn in Spokane on Oct. 20, according to information provided by the Spokane Police Department. Haslage, who was a fugitive facing drug charges in Idaho, was apprehended without incident prior to a standoff between members of the SWAT team and other subjects in the hotel.
At the time of his arrest, Spokane police said Haslage was a suspect “in multiple crimes spanning three states.”
Those crimes allegedly include a vehicle heist south of Kalispell in early July, when Haslage and an accomplice stole a Dodge Ram pickup, backed it into a shop at a used car dealership, loaded it full of supplies and left in the Ram and a second stolen vehicle, a 2016 Dodge Challenger. The two vehicles are each valued at more than $30,000 and the stolen supplies — including a plasma cutter, wire welder, windshield repair kit, scan tool and more — are worth more than $11,000. A law enforcement analysis matched Haslage’s fingerprint to one found on a water bottle and window at the crime scene.
Two days after the theft was reported, on July 12, Flathead County authorities were notified that the stolen Challenger was found abandoned in Washington state after it struck a power box, although the driver was not at the scene when authorities arrived. That same day, the stolen Ram was recovered in Bonner County, Idaho, filled with the other stolen items.
Haslage was charged on Dec. 29 in Flathead County District Court with two counts of felony theft and one count of felony burglary. If convicted on all three counts, he could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison and be fined up to $70,000.
A month before the vehicle thefts, Haslage appeared law enforcement’s radar when he allegedly led Montana Highway Patrol on a high-speed chase through Sanders and Mineral counties. According to a story in the Sanders County Ledger Haslage attempted to outrun authorities in a stolen 1970 Dodge Charger at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour along I-90 and Montana Highway 28. Haslage allegedly crashed the vehicle into a tree off Highway 28 and fled on foot, but was later arrested. He is awaiting trial on a single count of felony criminal endangerment and is currently being held in Sanders County on $50,000 bail.
Correction (March 1, 2021): This story has been updated to clarify the events leading up to Haslage’s arrest on Oct. 20. He was apprehended without incident before a standoff that required the deployment of the SWAT team.