Colorado man arrested in Baker City after Idaho pursuit ends with spike strips

A Colorado man was arrested in Baker City after a pursuit that started in Payette County, Idaho, rolled west on Interstate 84 and ended only after Oregon State Police flattened three tires with spike strips.

Oregon State Police got the driving complaint about 1 p.m. May 5 and located a white Camaro near milepost 318 on Interstate 84. Troopers tried to stop the car after making initial contact, but the driver kept going, turning a regional highway problem into a Baker City police response.

Troopers deployed spike strips ahead of the Camaro, and the car continued with three flat tires before the pursuit entered Baker City. Baker County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Baker City police assisted Oregon State Police in taking the driver into custody, showing how quickly an interstate chase can move into city streets and draw in local agencies.

The driver was identified as David Gerald Putnam, 61, of Avon, Colorado. He was arrested on charges of attempt to elude a police officer in a vehicle, reckless driving, reckless endangering another person and offensive littering.

The route mattered as much as the arrest. The chase began with Payette County authorities in Idaho, moved west onto one of eastern Oregon’s busiest freight and travel corridors, and then spilled into Baker City, where local deputies and police had to help contain it. For Baker County, the episode underscored the public-safety stakes when a fleeing driver leaves the interstate and heads into town, where other motorists and nearby residents can be caught in the path of the pursuit.

Baker County law-enforcement agencies routinely use public press logs to track incidents in the area, and Oregon State Police posts patrol and news information through its public release system. This case added another reminder of how a pursuit that starts across the state line can become a Baker City problem in minutes.