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Police conduct early morning search Tuesday

KEITH KINNAIRD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 11 months AGO
by KEITH KINNAIRD
News Editor | August 18, 2018 1:00 AM

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint Police conducted an early morning search in the Cabinet Mountains east of Samuels on Tuesday.

The search stood out in the Bonner Dispatch log because it took place on Namaste Path, which is 20 miles outside the city and on a road with a tangential connection to a murder inside the city earlier this month.

Dispatch records indicate at least three officers were present during the search, which began at 6:53 a.m. and continued until as late as 10:45 a.m. City officials released no information about the search on Wednesday.

Namaste Path, located off Rapid Lightning Creek Road, is a route associated with a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly battered during an incident at the Meandering Moose apartments on July 14, according to Bonner County Magistrate Court records. Blas Salvadore Alonzo Dias was accused of punching the teen in the face and choking her by bracing her against a wall, a Sandpoint Police affidavit said. He also allegedly smashed another teen’s mobile phone during the confrontation.

Dias, 34, was facing misdemeanor charges of battery and malicious injury to property as a result of the incident.

Dias, who was also known as Duke, was shot to death at the Meandering Moose on Aug. 6.

Sandpoint Police said Dias was shot once in the chest upon opening the door to his apartment. A male suspect fled on foot and police said a small-caliber handgun believed to have been used in the killing was recovered and is being analyzed at an Idaho State Police lab.

The alleged victim in the battery case is associated with two different addresses on Namaste Path, court records in an unrelated marijuana-possession case indicate. The address of the residence searched on Tuesday is omitted from the dispatch log.

Sandpoint Police said earlier this month that it was not immediately if the battery case was linked to Dias’ slaying, although Chief Corey Coon said investigators were following all potential leads.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.

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