EUGENE — A Baker City man who fled from a traffic stop on Interstate 84 in 2021, led police on a chase at speeds of up to 100 mph and threatened a shootout with police, was sentenced Thursday, Sept. 28 to more than 15 years in federal prison on drug and gun charges.

Zachary Charles Persicke, 38, was sentenced to 188 months in prison and five years of supervised probation after his release.

Persicke was arrested in September 2021 after surrendering to police along Interstate 84 about 26 miles southeast of Baker City. He had driven over a spike strip before surrendering. A grand jury indicted him for attempting to elude police, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine and heroin. Police also found a loaded Glock .45-caliber pistol on the passenger seat of Persicke’s car, and a loaded Smith and Wesson AR-15 rifle with a 60-round capacity magazine in the vehicle’s trunk.

Police later served a search warrant on Persicke’s home, where they found about half a pound of methamphetamine, several grams of heroin, a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun and three handguns.

Persicke was later charged in federal court.

On Nov. 18, 2021, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a three-count indictment charging Persicke with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On April 5, 2023, Persicke pleaded guilty to a two-count superseding criminal information charging him with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

This case was investigated by the Baker City Police Department with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Oregon State Police and the Baker County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.