Steamboat police arrested a man following a high-speed chase just before midnight April 4 in downtown Steamboat Springs, according an arrest affidavit.

Ivan Dominguez-Martinez, 28, was arrested around 11:48 p.m. last Friday and was charged with vehicular eluding, speeding, reckless driving and two other traffic-related offenses.

About an hour before his arrest, a Steamboat police officer saw a white Mercedes sports car driving toward downtown at an “extreme speed,” states the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, the Mercedes was allegedly traveling 51 mph in a 25-mph zone.

The police officer turned on his lights and started to follow the vehicle and initiate a traffic stop, but the driver accelerated and “began fleeing,” states the affidavit.

The vehicle was allegedly traveling westbound on Lincoln Avenue in downtown Steamboat at speeds of 60-70 mph and “completely disregarded numerous red lights and sped through intersections, placing the many pedestrians and other vehicles in serious danger,” states the affidavit.

A second Steamboat police officer was patrolling at the time of the incident and joined in pursuit of the vehicle, following the car with the other officer out of the downtown area.

As the vehicle was leaving the downtown area, officers “estimated” the vehicle reached speeds of “nearly 100 mph,” according to the affidavit. Officers then lost sight of the vehicle “due to its extreme speed.”

According to the affidavit, a deputy with the Routt County Sheriff’s Office was approached by a citizen who witnessed the westbound fleeing car.

Law enforcement believed the vehicle was driving toward Hayden and contacted the Hayden Police Department about the incident.

The affidavit states that a Hayden police officer “utilized Flock Safety cameras” and “obtained license plate information for the suspect vehicle.”

According to Steamboat Police Chief Mark Beckett, Flock Safety cameras are primarily used as license plate reader cameras, but can also detect the make and model of a vehicle.

After finding a license plate number associated with a white Mercedes registered to Dominguez-Martinez, Hayden police officers searched the town for the vehicle.

According to the affidavit, officers saw a white Mercedes in the area of North 4th Street that “appeared to be intentionally hidden from view” in a driveway. 

“The white Mercedes was not displaying a front license plate, and was backed up in a way that shielded the rear license plate, and a pickup truck had been intentionally parked facing oncoming traffic in an attempt to shield the car from view,” states the affidavit.

The affidavit also states that Hayden police “confirmed” that the rear license plate on the vehicle was the same one seen on the Flock Safety cameras, and the hood of the car was “still hot.”

Dominguez-Martinez told police that he was the only one who had recently driven the white Mercedes and that he had driven it an hour before police spoke to him.

According to the affidavit, Hayden police spoke to Dominguez-Martinez about 35 minutes after Steamboat police attempted to make the initial traffic stop. 

Dominguez-Martinez was “unable to provide an explanation,” states the affidavit. He was then arrested and taken to Routt County Jail by a Routt County sheriff’s deputy.

“If people think they’re going to fail to yield from us and get away from us, our technology is better than it’s ever been,” said Beckett. “In all likelihood, we will locate and identify you and you’ll still get charged.”

Beckett added that fleeing from law enforcement also poses danger to the community, putting both the offender and bystanders in harm’s way.

“People will panic or they’ll have drugs on them or a warrant, so they flee and they end up putting themselves in serious felony charges,” Beckett continued. “It’s just not worth it.”

According to the Routt County Combined Courts clerk’s office, Dominguez-Martinez posted a $2,000 bond on Saturday.

Dominguez-Martinez’s next court date is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.