Dave Dahl, Dave's Killer Bread co-founder, out on bail amid Washington County criminal charges

By Everton Bailey Jr. | The Oregonian | February 17, 2014

Source: The Oregonian

Dave's Killer Bread's co-founder is out of the Washington County Jail after posting bail amid new charges from a November 2013 police chase that injured three county deputies.

Dave Dahl, 51, posted 10 percent of his $520,000 bail late Friday, hours after he was booked on charges of attempted assault, assault, unlawful use of a weapon, attempt to elude, failure to perform the duties of a driver and resisting arrest, according to the county jail. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in county court on the same day.

Dahl was arrested late Nov. 14 after leading Washington County deputies on a half-mile chase in his Cadillac Escalade from a Cedar Hills home, ramming two patrol cars and then was trapped in an area cul-de-sac, court documents say. The three injured deputies had non-life-threatening injuries.

Deputies were initially responding to a 911 call from a woman in the Cedar Hills home who reported that Dahl, her friend, was "having a mental breakdown," court documents said.

Earlier that day, Dahl drove to Dave's Killer Bread's headquarters in Milwaukie, threatened employees and punched a life-size cutout of himself, according to an employee who called 911.

During a court appearance on Nov. 15, Dahl's attorney, Stephen Houze, called the events leading up to his arrest "a mental health crisis." Dahl posted bail on Nov. 16.

Dahl, a convicted felon with a criminal history that includes 15 years in and out of prison on drug, assault and robbery charges, is the face of Dave's Killer Bread, a popular national line of organic, whole-grain products.