An Albany man was arrested Saturday evening, July 15, following a police pursuit that ended after his car came to a stop with a flat tire at 7-Eleven in Sweet Home.
Sweet Home police said they became aware at about 11:05 p.m. that the pursuit, which was initiated by Albany police, was headed toward Sweet Home on Highway 20, according to a SHPD statement.
Prior to reaching Sweet Home, pursuing officers discontinued the pursuit due to the dangers presented to the public. But a Linn County Sheriff’s deputy was able to successfully place spike strips in front of the fleeing vehicle, flattening one of the suspect vehicle’s tires west of Sweet Home, police said.
At about 11:12 p.m. a Sweet Home Police sergeant saw the vehicle enter the city limits at a high rate of speed. The sergeant did not pursue the vehicle, but followed in the event the vehicle crashed. Two minutes later, Sweet Home Dispatch received calls that the vehicle had crashed in the 2400 block of Main Street and reports indicated the male driver had fled on foot toward Long Street.
The sergeant responded to Long Street and Mountain View Road, where he could hear a subject running through the wooded area to the northeast of his location. Law enforcement set a perimeter around the location and awaited the arrival of a police K-9.
At about 11:45 p.m., Linn County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Thunder located the driver, identified as Harley Dunn, 22, of Albany, in the wooded area, and he was taken into custody. Dunn was transported by Sweet Home Fire District to Lebanon Community Hospital to receive treatment for injuries received during this incident.
Police said it was later determined that the vehicle did not crash but came to a stop on the sidewalk near a power pole.
Dunn remained lodged at the Linn County Jail at press time on nearly a dozen charges including reckless endangering, felon in possession of a firearm, various charges of eluding police and reckless driving.
Police credited assistance from citizens, who provided clothing descriptions and direction of travel of the fleeing subject to responding officers, which aided in locating him quickly.