Prineville police chase, crash send pickup into Tastee Treet

An attempted traffic stop in downtown Prineville turned into a chase of a speeding pickup that crashed into another pickup at an intersection, then smashed into the corner of the Tastee Treet restaurant, police said. The 22-year-old driver ran away but was caught and arrested on numerous charges.

The string of events began around 10:40 a.m. when a Prineville police officer tried to stop a car for failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign on Northeast Seventh Street near Juniper Street, Sgt. James Peterson said.

While trying to catch up to the car, the officer spotted a 1996 Nissan pickup on Juniper Street that began “accelerating at a high rate of speed,” Peterson said in a news release.

The officer discontinued the original traffic stop for the more serious offense of speeding. The officer reported the Nissan went through a stop sign without stopping, heading west onto Third Street, then continued westbound, driving onto the center left-hand turn lane.

The Nissan was driven by a man later identified as 22-year-old Danjero Jay Shetler of Prineville, Peterson said.

The pickup struck a 2010 Ford F-150 pickup as it passed through the intersection of Northeast Third and Elm streets, causing more than $1,500 damage to the pickup, the sergeant said. Its driver, a Prineville resident, was unhurt.

Shetler then lost control of the Nissan pickup and it crashed into the corner of the Tastee Treet restaurant at the northwest corner of Third and Elm, Peterson said. The business was open at the time, but the patrons inside were unhurt.

Shetler ran from the crash scene, but the officer pursued him on foot and he was apprehended in the 300 block of Second Street, with assistance from Crook County sheriff’s deputies.

Damage to the Tastee Treet were estimated at more than $1,500, while Prineville city property by the front of the business also sustained an estimated $1,000 in damage.

Evidence of drug possession was found on Shetler when he was arrested, Peterson said.

Shetler was booked into the county jail in Prineville and held without bail on a parole violation charge. His new charges include reckless driving, felony and misdemeanor fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, hit and run (property damage), two counts of first-degree criminal mischief and misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine and heroin.

Anyone with more information about the case can contact Prineville police at 541-447-4168, case agent Officer Daniel Yanes or leave a message on the department’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PrinevillePD/.

Court records show Shetler has a lengthy Crook County criminal history in the past four years, beginning with a 2013 graffiti violation and including felony charges of fourth-degree assault, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, criminal mischief and drug possession. He also was arrested in May in Deschutes County on charges of reckless driving, fleeing a police officer, criminal mischief and hit-and-run (property damage).

In late September , Shetler was arrested on a parole detainer after riding in a car driven by Shelly Wickman, 26, also of Prineville, who deputies said failed to stop at a stop sign and refused to pull over, leading to a pursuit and minor damage to a patrol car she backed into in an attempt to flee.