Lookout Pass authorities make arrest after chase

MINERAL COUNTY - A 25-year-old man from Montana has been released from police custody after he was arrested on two felony charges Monday including possession of stolen snowboard equipment which belonged to a teenager, according to a police report from the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office.

Dullinger is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in district court on Jan. 28 before Judge Daniel McGee. His bond — set at $25,000 — was posted on Tuesday, January 13.

Authorities recovered $1,299 worth of previously stolen property from Andre Nigel Dullinger, of Ronan, Mont. At approximately noon Monday at Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area.

Dullinger also faces charges of battery, possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, use or possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a schedule III controlled substance.

The confiscated items include a snowboard, boots and helmet, which were reportedly stolen from a 13-year-old on Dec. 23, 2013 at Lookout Pass, said Deputy Adam Durflinger in a police report.

The teenager told Durflinger that his friends saw Dullinger wearing the stolen coat and using the snowboard. When the teenager approached Dullinger, he asked him where he got the snowboard. The teenager then reached to clear snow off of the board at which time Dullinger “hit his hand and then took off down the face of the mountain,” the report stated.

The teenagers then chased Dullinger down the mountain, but Dullinger was able to get back on the chair one lift.

Ski patrol and other Lookout officials were then made aware of the situation. Casey Hatfield, an operations manager at the mountain, told police that Dullinger ran to his vehicle to leave the premises.

“Casey stated he stood in front of the vehicle and [Dullinger] hit him with the vehicle in both knees,” according to the report.

Dullinger’s wheels were believed to be spinning at approximately 40 to 50 mph, the report stated.

An altercation then reportedly ensued during an attempt to remove Dullinger from his vehicle. The teenager was able to identify his helmet and a safety strap in the back seat of the car before police arrived on the scene.

Upon further examination of the vehicle, Durflinger located a jar with packaged baggies of marijuana, a scale, a pipe, cash and three and a half pills.