Tumalo man arrested for DUII after early-AM pursuit
A Bend man who led a Deschutes County sheriff’s deputy on a mile-long chase in the Tumalo area early Sunday was arrested in his driveway on DUII and other charges, jailed and released a couple of hours later, authorities said.
Shortly after 3 a.m., a sheriff’s deputy tried to pull over a 2015 Toyota 4Runner on Highway 20 West for failure to drive its lane of travel, said Lt. Ty Rupert.
The driver, later identified as Gentry Ceniga, 37, refused to pull over, slowing to about 30 miles an hour and continuing east on the highway. He then turned onto Dayton Road, sped up and tried to elude the deputy, Rupert said.
A pursuit was initiated and continued for about a mile, at speeds up to about 50 mph. Rupert said the deputy told supervisors there was no traffic on the road at the time.
Ceniga, who was alone in the SUV, was found in his driveway off Dayton Road, where the deputy conducted a high-risk (gun-drawn) traffic stop and took him into custody without incident, Rupert said.
Ceniga was taken to the county jail in Bend and booked on one count each of DUII and attempt to elude a police officer. A jail officer said he was booked in at 4:21 a.m. and was released at 6:50 a.m. to a responsible third party, pending a future court date.
