Crime Spree Across Two Counties Ends With One Man Arrested, Another At Large, Police say

MOLALLA, OR – A wild afternoon of car thefts, car chases, and car wrecks around Molalla on Tuesday ended with one man in police custody and another on the loose, according to Molalla Police Chief Rod Lucich.

Eric Scott Potter, 23, was arrested by Molalla police shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday after allegedly stealing and subsequently crashing two different vehicles in the span of roughly three and a half hours. Potter has been charged with second degree assault, two charges of hit and run, and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He is being held at the Clackamas County Jail on a $265,000 bail.

A second unidentified suspect, Potter's accomplice, is still at large.

UPDATE (Friday 6:30 p.m.): Potter's accomplice was originally reported to be 33-year-old Erik Ryan Dahl. Turns out that's not the case, according to Marion County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Don Parise.

"We're pretty darn confident that this is not Dahl," Parise told Patch Friday. "It sounds like the bad guy (Potter's accomplice) got Dahl's information."

Read through to the end for more on this breaking development.

It all started when Potter and his accomplice allegedly stole a 1996 GMC Yukon from Donald, Ore., around 1:30 p.m. April 25, Lucich said. About three hours later, shortly after 4:30 p.m., the stolen Yukon was involved in a single vehicle wreck in the 36000-block of South Sawtell Road near Molalla, nearly 25 miles away from where it was allegedly stolen.

UPDATE: Previously unreported, Potter and his accomplice were involved in a theft in Woodburn during the three-hour gap from stealing the Yukon in Donald and crashing it outside of Molalla, according to Parise.

After the crash, Potter and his accomplice reportedly met with a local resident who gave the two men a ride into Molalla, dropping them off at Y-Market/Astro's Express Deli, also known as Toad's Market, at the corner of East Main Street and Mathias Road.

After being dropped off, Potter reportedly entered an unsecured Dodge truck that was parked at the market and drove away. Lucich said Potter was alone when he allegedly stole the Dodge. Where the accomplice went during this time is unknown, Lucich said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

As Potter fled in the truck, the owner of the Dodge reportedly tried to stop him. The ensuing struggle between Potter and the Dodge owner ended with Potter using the truck to drag the owner across the parking lot before rear-ending a small sedan. Following the crash, as Potter sped away from the scene in the damaged truck, the Dodge owner joined the driver of the sedan to give chase.

Potter reportedly drove the stolen Dodge west on East Main Street further into Molalla. He only went about a quarter of a mile, however, before hitting a power pole at East Main Street and Fenton Avenue, knocking out power in the area, Lucich said.

While the Clackamas and Marion county sheriff's offices joined the search for the stolen Dodge, Molalla police officers located the Dodge owner and damaged sedan, Lucich said.

About 30 minutes later, around 5 p.m., a 911 caller told dispatchers that he was with a man who'd just crashed a Dodge truck in the Beavercreek area, near Mint Lake Road –– roughly 15 miles from where the power pole was struck in Molalla. When officers and deputies arrived, Potter was found hiding in a nearby yard where he was arrested.

Lucich said Potter also had an outstanding warrant for felony assault and escape out of Washington State.

Anyone with information about these events is encouraged to call Molalla police at 503-829-8817, or the non-emergency number at 503-655-8211.

Additionally, Lucich reminds readers and residents to secure unoccupied vehicles before leaving them unattended, noting that it is against Oregon law to leave an unattended vehicle idling.

"These types of things happen across the country," said Lucich, a 38-year law enforcement veteran, adding that it doesn't matter whether it's Portland or Molalla –– crimes of opportunity can happen anywhere.

UPDATE: Around 7 p.m. Thursday, Patch and several other regional news outlets received an email from someone claiming to be Dahl:

My name is Erik Ryan Dahl and I was mentioned in a story published/televised by your organization on or about April 25, 2017. In the story, my hometown and age were given and I was identified as "a person of interest" in the theft and damage of a 1996 GMC Yukon in Molalla, Oregon. While local law enforcement may have identified me as "a person of interest" immediately following the incident, you will find that rather than being a suspect I am actually a victim of a similar vehicle theft…
Prior to the incident in Molalla, my vehicle was stolen in Vancouver, Wash. … from my place of employment. My wallet, containing my driver's license, was inside my vehicle at the time it was stolen, which I understand was the basis for local law enforcement identifying me as "a person of interest." The theft of my vehicle and wallet can be confirmed by contacting the Vancouver Police Department.

On Friday the Vancouver Police Department confirmed the stolen vehicle case Dahl mentioned in his email, and Parise confirmed Dahl is no longer a person of interest in the thefts out of Marion County, noting that Dahl was not picked out of a photo lineup shown to witnesses.

Photo Courtesy: Clackamas County Sheriff's Office