Chase of Suspected Car Thief Ends in Greenfield Home

A man who police say stole a car just after it had been detailed at a Wauwatosa car dealership was caught a week later in Greenfield, according to court documents.

Lonnie Anthony Dahl, a 40-year-old Milwaukee man, was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on May 10 with three felonies: operating a vehicle without owner’s consent, attempting to flee or elude a traffic officer and bail jumping. The three charges carry a combined maximum penalty of $30,000 in fines, 15 ½ years of imprisonment or both, if convicted.

Dahl hopped out of a silver Audi and into a black 2008 Ford Focus that had just been detailed by an employee at Uptown Lincoln Mercury, 2111 N. Mayfair Rd., on April 29, while the employee stepped inside the dealership, according to the criminal complaint.

One week later, court records state, Dahl drew attention to himself at the intersection of West Loomis Road and West Layton Avenue in Greenfield when he almost ran a red light. The officer who saw Dahl ran the vehicle’s license plates, which indicated the car had been stolen.

The officer tried to pull Dahl over, but Dahl fled, reaching speeds of 65-70 mph in a 40-mph zone on West Cold Spring Road.

Dahl eventually pulled the car over in an alley between 45th and 46th streets, but the pursuit did not end there. He took off on foot, the complaint says, and officers, along with a K-9 unit, eventually tracked Dahl down in a home in the 4600 block of South 46th Street.

Dahl was charged with felony car theft back in March as well and was convicted for stealing a car in 2000. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing May 20.