A Salem man was arrested early Tuesday morning near La Pine after a chase on Highway 97, according to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
Sgt. Jayson Janes said officers from the Bend Police Department tried to stop a suspected DUI driver around 4:00 a.m.
He said the driver refused to stop, so police ended the pursuit and passed along the vehicle description and license plate to local law enforcement agencies.
Around 4:28 AM a DCSO deputy was on Highway 97 near Vandevert Rd. saw the Toyota SUV driving south on the highway without lights.
The deputy requested another officer set up Stop Sticks south of his location on the highway in case the vehicle refused to stop again.
When the deputy tried to pull over the SUV, it kept driving.
Janes said the Stop Sticks were effective and popped the rear tires, but the driver kept going.
There was minimal traffic on the highway at this time, so deputies continued pursuing the vehicle.
The chase ended as entered La Pine, but deputies were able to watch the SUV from a distance.
Janes said the SUV continued south on the highway eventually making a U-turn at the south end of La Pine and began driving north on Hwy 97.
As the SUV was in the area of Hwy 97 and Burgess Road, deputies used the “Pursuit Intervention Technique: (PIT) o stop the SUV.
After the chase stopped, the driver, later identified as 43-year-old Michael Gookin, ran into a wooded area to the west.
This is when K-9 Ronin and his partner Deputy Michael Mangin began tracking Gookin.
Ronin ultimately bit Gookin in order to get control of him.
Gookin continued to resist attempts at taking him into custody.
Gookin was taken to St. Charles for evaluation and was later taken to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Jail and lodged on multiple felony charges including driving under the influence, felon in possession of a restricted weapon, attempted assault on a law enforcement animal and driving while suspended.
