Keeping it real in wine country

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It sounds more like a Hollywood movie than a sunny afternoon in pristine Napa Valley – a man, shot once already, runs through a vineyard screaming for help on his cellphone while his business partner chases him in an SUV, shooting at him the whole time.

Emad Tawfilis, 48, made it to the road Monday and could see sheriff's deputies arriving. But Robert Dahl got out of his black Toyota SUV, walked up to Tawfilis, and shot him in the head, killing him.

Dahl, 47, got back in his SUV and raced up State Road 29, the main tourist strip in Napa Valley, with deputies in pursuit by car and helicopter, according to Napa County Sheriff's Office. Dahl made a sharp turn onto a smaller mountain road, crashed through the gate of a private residence and drove into the woods. By the time deputies caught up with his car, he had shot and killed himself.

The murder-suicide happened during a break in a business meeting between the two men. Dahl, whose business ventures in Napa were failing one by one, was being sued by Tawfilis over an unpaid loan, and had been accused by him of fraud. Earlier this month Dahl lost several court judgments and he faced a hearing next week on 18 counts of contempt of court.

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