A routine fishing license check at a dam on the Des Moines River near Fort Dodge led to a chase and the arrest of a man wanted on two warrants.

State Conservation Officer Bill Spece says everything started Friday when he asked 30-year-old David Dayton of Fort Dodge for his fishing license . Spece says Dayton said he did not have a license and it turned into a foot chase and a scuffle to get him into custody. The foot chase started after Dayton gave Spece his brother’s name instead of his own.

“The original name and date of birth that I was given, when I ran it it did show that individual had a warrant and that is what I was in the process of acting on,” Spece says. “And I did find out after getting him under control that he was not who he originally said and there were actually two warrants.” Spece says during the chase Dayton swung at him and hit him in the head, and he finally had to pull out his gun to arrest him.

“I did feel that he had intentions of harming me, so I did eventually draw the weapon after he did not listen to any commands to submit,” Spece says. Fort Dodge Police and Webster County deputies arrived to help out. Spece says this is the first time he’s run into a situation like this and credits the training officers get for allowing him to handle it.

“Most individuals we deal with are very great people and very happy to see us out there checking licenses and appreciate the fact that we are protecting the resource. Very few people act like they don’t want us out there,” according to Spece.

Dayton had two outstanding warrants, including a parole violation and failure to appear. He was charged with interference with official acts with bodily injury for the scuffle with Spece and was charged with fishing without a license. He was also found in possession of an unidentified substance, hypodermic syringes and other drug paraphernalia that will be tested at the DCI lab in Des Moines.Additional charges are pending.

Spece has been a conservation officer for a little more than one year. Prior to that he was an officer with the Eldora and Vinton police departments and the Marshal County Sheriff’s office.