Montana student charged for squad car theft
UM freshman faces felony, misdemeanors
05/02/05 Tristan Scott, Montana Kaimin
A 20-year-old University of Montana student who is charged with felony theft for stealing a Missoula city police car last weekend made his initial appearance in Justice Court on Monday.
In addition to the felony, Daniel Ray Schlauch, a freshman in business administration, is charged with three misdemeanors: driving under the influence of alcohol, failing to remain at the scene of an accident and unlawful possession of alcohol.
Schlauch’s bail was set at $2,500.
On Monday, April 25, Schlauch’s parents posted the bail for their son, who was arrested Saturday and held in the Missoula County Jail.
According to police reports, Officer Mike Hebert responded to a complaint of a large, noisy party on the 1800 block of Wyoming Street.
To assist Hebert, Officer Casey Richardson also responded to the complaint. According to his report, when he turned down Wyoming Street, squad car 741 passed him going in the opposite direction.
"I knew that Officer Hebert had arrived on Wyoming before me," Richardson wrote in his report. "As I came even with the patrol car, I saw that Hebert was not driving the car.
"As we passed by each other, the driver and I made eye contact before he immediately made a right turn and headed north on Johnson."
Richardson flipped around and followed the patrol car until the suspect jumped out of the vehicle and started running down Idaho Street.
The patrol car rolled over a log curb before stopping against a fence, causing no damage to the vehicle but breaking part of the fence.
Another officer responding to a radio call arrested Schlauch and brought him to the county jail.
According to the report, Schlauch’s mother, Lori, arrived at the jail and spoke with officers.
"Lori stated he had been ‘doing good’ and had not been drinking for several weeks. Lori said he is ‘a good kid’ and would not do this when he is sober,’" the report states.
Schlauch allegedly stole the squad car while Hebert’s attention was on the partygoers.
The keys were in the car’s ignition and the car was unlocked