Gresham man arrested after Prineville chase

A 24-year-old Gresham man who refused to pull over for a Crook County sheriff’s deputy on a speeding violation early Sunday eventually stopped his pickup and ran, but fell and was arrested on several charges, including cocaine possession, deputies said Monday.

Shortly before 3 a.m., a deputy spotted a 2000 Chevy pickup heading west on Northwest Ninth Street near Deer Street in Prineville, said Sgt. Bill Elliott.

The deputy tried to stop the pickup for a traffic violation (speeding), but the driver, later identified as Alverto Lopez-Florez, did not pull over and tried to elude the deputy for about five blocks in a residential neighborhood at speeds topping 40 mph, Elliott said.

Eventually, Lopez-Florez stopped in the middle of the road and ran from the pickup near the corner of Eighth and Deer Street, Elliott said.

The deputy chased the driver for about a block before he fell and was arrested without further incident, He was taken first to Pioneer Memorial Hospital, then to the county jail.

Lopez-Florez was charged with attempt to elude police, driving with a suspended license (misdemeanor), cocaine possession, attempted assault on a public safety officer, fourth-degree attempted assault (on hospital staff) and aggravated harassment.

He later was moved to the Jefferson County Jail, where he remained held without bail on a probation violation charge out of Multnomah County, deputies said.

Prineville police assisted in the case, Elliott added.