Anti-crime crusader jailed after shooting
BOISE – A woman who led a crusade for Idaho to strengthen domestic-violence laws after her daughter was killed has been charged with kidnapping, drug crimes and obstructing police following a shooting that authorities say happened inside her car.
Barbara Dehl, 49, of Nampa, was arrested early Friday along with five other people police say were involved in a methamphetamine ring. Police found more than four pounds worth of meth, which they said was valued at $219,000.
Police said Dehl owned the 1986 Toyota 4 Runner they believe a 22-year-old was killed in more than a week ago, then buried in a shallow grave in rural southern Idaho.
One of the others arrested was Larry D. Hanslovan, 43, of Nampa, who authorities say was driving Dehl’s car when John Albert Schmeichel was shot in the head.
“Kidnapping charges have been filed against Barbara Dehl and Larry Hanslovan,” said Boise Police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower, declining to say if the allegations are related to the Schmeichel case.
She also declined to say if police believe Dehl was in the Toyota at the time of the killing.
Ronald Huntsman, 46, already faces first-degree murder charges in connection with Schmeichel’s death. He was arrested late Thursday in Boise.
Police have said Schmeichel may have been killed amid a dispute over a recent burglary in Nampa.
“The drug investigation and the murder investigation aren’t connected, except they involve some of the same people,” Hightower said.
In 2000, Dehl helped lead a push to extend Idaho’s domestic abuse protections to teenagers trapped in abusive dating relationships. Her 17-year-old daughter, Cassandra Dehl, died in a 1999 traffic accident in which a car driven by her boyfriend, who was allegedly drunk at the time, hurtled off the side of a U.S. Forest Service road.
Justin Neuendorf, whom Barbara Dehl accused of abusing her daughter, was convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the death.
Barbara Dehl won praise from lawmakers including Gov. Dirk Kempthorne in April 2000 for helping spearhead a measure meant to bolster the power of Idaho courts to issue protective orders barring abusive boyfriends from coming near their victims. Dehl received a “Spirit of Idaho” award and was honored in a 2004 U.S. Senate resolution. Dehl later sued the state and Caribou County, alleging officials there should have stopped the abuse.
In addition to Friday’s kidnapping charge, Dehl is also accused of selling methamphetamine and with resisting and obstructing officers who questioned her about Schmeichel’s death.
“That’s a charge filed against people who police believe aren’t being honest and cooperative in their investigation,” Hightower said.
Schmeichel’s body was found Thursday in a shallow grave in Elmore County three miles north of Glenns Ferry.
Police are releasing few details of shooting because they are still using them in the investigation, Hightower said, describing a probe that stretches through three counties and involves at least a half-dozen Idaho law enforcement agencies.
Others arrested and charged with selling methamphetamine include Hanslovan, Jerry L. Rayne, 49, of Boise, Shannon J. Babbs, 34, of Nampa and Nampa resident Elias Garcia, 39.