Dispute between Napa vintner and investor ends in murder-suicide

Napa Valley Sheriff Sergeant Doug Wilkinson pours water to dilute the blood of investor Emad Tawfilis who died at this spot on Solano Avenue. Robert Dahl, who recently achieved his dream of opening a winery near Napa, Calif., shot and killed his investor in a bitter legal battle and then allegedly took his own life as the police closed in. less Napa Valley Sheriff Sergeant Doug Wilkinson pours water to dilute the blood of investor Emad Tawfilis who died at this spot on Solano Avenue. Robert Dahl, who recently achieved his dream of opening a winery ... more Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Dispute between Napa vintner and investor ends in murder-suicide 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

A Napa Valley winery owner with a charismatic personality and a history of fraud shot to death a onetime business partner and then killed himself after a harrowing chase through a vineyard — a violent end to a bitter financial dispute between the men, authorities said Tuesday.

Robert Dahl, who opened Dahl Vineyards in 2013, allegedly shot Emad Tawfilis execution-style on Monday at his Yountville property on Solano Avenue, firing the fatal shot just as Napa County sheriff’s deputies arrived. He then fled in his SUV and shot himself when he was about to be captured, investigators said.

It was the tragic final act of a man who made a name for himself pursuing his Napa County dream, launching a wine business aimed at developing third-party brands as well as a craft brewery. It all came crashing down in a frenzy of violence Monday when associates said Dahl’s shady dealings came back to haunt him and he snapped.

“There are few people like him on the planet, but psychopaths are usually that way,” said Greg Knittel, Dahl’s former business partner at Napa Point Brewing Co. “When Robert got his back against the wall, he lost control of himself.”

The wild scene erupted out of an 11 a.m. meeting at the winery, where the two men had agreed to discuss their financial impasse with their attorneys on speakerphone. During a break in the meeting, something went bad and Dahl pulled a gun, according to the sheriff’s department.

“It’s just awful,” said Tawfilis’ attorney, David Wiseblood, who was no longer on the call with the two men at the time of the shooting. “It’s senseless and tragic. It’s a sad way to see lives ruined and ended.”

Terrifying chase

Investigators described a terrifying foot-and-car chase in which Tawfilis ran out of the office and frantically attempted to escape through the vineyard. He called 911 as Dahl pursued him in his black SUV. Tawfilis told the operator he had been shot and that Dahl was trying to kill him.

“As he was chasing Tawfilis, Dahl was believed to be firing repeatedly at Tawfilis with a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun,” sheriff’s officials said. “After making his way to the intersection of Hoffman Lane and Solano Avenue, the now-wounded Tawfilis fell to the ground as Dahl exited his SUV with the handgun, walked up to the victim and appeared to execute him just as the deputies were arriving.”

Sheriff’s Capt. Doug Pike said deputies saw two men among the vines. After the final shot, Dahl ran back to his car and fled. Tawfilis, who had been shot in the head, was pronounced dead at the scene, Pike said.

Dahl then led sheriff’s deputies and Napa city cops on a high-speed chase northbound on Highway 29, then west on Oakville Grade toward Sonoma County, Pike said.

A CHP helicopter joined the pursuit, which ended when Dahl’s vehicle crashed through a gate on Wall Road and came to a stop in a heavily wooded area near the border of Napa and Sonoma counties. Dahl shot himself as deputies were attempting to establish a perimeter, authorities said.

The dispute between the men began after Tawfilis’ investment group loaned Dahl $1.2 million for a company that he soon closed up, Wiseblood said. A Napa judge issued an 18-count contempt order against Dahl, the attorney said, and later the two agreed on an undisclosed amount of money Dahl would pay to Tawfilis.

The two were set to meet Monday in San Francisco, and Dahl was ordered to turn over five wine tanks to Tawfilis on Friday. He never did, so the meeting was canceled, Wiseblood said. He said the two men agreed to meet Monday at Dahl’s office, where they would have access to financial records.

Kousha Berokim, Dahl’s attorney, said his client and Tawfilis had been working on the framework of a deal and had taken a break from the discussion. Berokim, who has represented Dahl for about a year, said the men seemed calm during their meeting.

“This is unexplainable,” he said. “They obviously had a disagreement, but they were taking steps to resolve it.”

It was a shocking end for Dahl, whom business partners and acquaintances described as smart, affable and driven to succeed. Court records indicate, however, that Dahl had a history of cutting corners.

Swindling conviction

In 1989, while living in Minnesota, he was convicted of felony swindling and sentenced to 15 days in jail, according to court records that indicate the stolen funds exceeded $2,500.

The next year, he was charged with theft, pleaded guilty again and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

He ended up serving 90 days for both crimes, said Chuck Laszewski, a spokesman for the Hennepin County attorney's office. Details of Dahl’s Minnesota thefts were not immediately available.

After Dahl moved to Napa County, he set on a path pursued by many who come to the area, launching limited liability companies Napa Point Brewing, Napa Point Winery and California Shiners. He had started Patio Wine Company earlier in Minnesota, according to court records.

According to the website for Dahl Vineyards, the small purveyor opened in 2013 after Dahl “seized on the opportunity to build his own winery in the heart of Napa Valley in Yountville, a vineyard and winery that could become the ideal home for his own wine brand, that could reflect his commitment, heritage, and his entrepreneurial spirit.”

Knittel said Dahl was gregarious and convincing.

“He was a very charismatic, dynamic personality — probably one of the best salesmen I ever met. But I later found out many of his business dealings were not ethical or legal,” said Knittel, the owner of a construction company in Napa, who claims Dahl ran the brewing company into the ground. “I learned about his actions last August and cut ties with him. I learned he was doing things that were not proper corporate procedures.”

Knittel described Dahl’s business style as wanting “to go from first base to home without even swinging.”

'A control freak’

“He didn't want to grow the business over time — he was a man of instant gratification,” Knittel said. “He was a control freak.”

As for Tawfilis, Knittel described him as a nice guy who found out about the misdeeds and was determined to not be taken advantage of.

A lawsuit filed on Aug. 25, 2014, by Lexington Street Investments — for which Tawfilis was an executive — accused Dahl of using Patio Wine to falsely induce investments in his other holdings after the Minnesota company had been closed down.

Tawfilis was furious when he found out that Patio Wine was defunct and accused Dahl of deceit and misuse of funds, court files show. The dispute reached its deadly crescendo this week.

'Shocked, upset and mad’

“It's still unbelievable he did this,” Knittel said. “I'm shocked, upset and mad at him for what he did, especially for his wife and kids. What an arrogant way to go. Leave a mess for others to clean up.”

Other former business partners were equally shocked, including Dominic Foppoli, the owner of several wineries and a Windsor city councilman.

“There’s no amount of money or business success that's worth losing a life over,” Foppoli said. “I'm a little shaken up.”

The deaths were being investigated by the Napa County Major Crimes Investigation Team, made up of officials from the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, the Napa Police Department, the Calistoga Police Department and the Napa County district attorney’s office, Pike said.

Evan Sernoffsky and Peter Fimrite are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @evansernoffsky