A man who fled into a field off Rock Hill Road and climbed into a tree was arrested Tuesday after a search by Sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officials, Linn County Sheriff Jim Yon said.
Yon said on Tuesday, June 15, at 2:18 p.m., deputies performed a traffic stop on Rock Hill Road, south of Lebanon involving Nicholas Ames, 31, who had earlier in the day caused a disturbance near Sweet Home.
He was reported to have left the location in Sweet Home in a green Mustang.
“Throughout the day deputies watched for Ames during their regular patrols, eventually locating him south of Lebanon,” Yon said.
During the traffic stop, he said, Ames stopped the vehicle and quickly ran through a farm field and into a grove of trees. Multiple agencies responded to assist in searching for Ames. After three hours and a search using drones and an Albany Police Department canine team, Ames was located high in a tree.
At first, Ames refused to come down but a deputy on scene who is trained in crisis negotiations was able to talk him into cooperating and he was taken into custody, Yon said.
Yon said deputies have responded to multiple calls within the last few days where Ames was a suspect in assaulting people, violating restraining orders, and causing other disturbances. He was transported to the Linn County Jail,
where he was lodged on multiple charges for violating a restraining order, reckless driving, eluding on foot, eluding in a vehicle and violations of his release agreements from prior arrests.
Yon said Ames was involved in a similar incident in March when he attempted to evade deputies by driving through a farm field after suspected of theft. At that time, Ames was uncooperative and ignored instructions as he acted like he had a firearm. He was ultimately taken into custody after a lengthy negotiation.
Linn County Deputies were assisted by Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Albany Police Department, Lebanon Police Department and the Lebanon Fire Department.