High-Speed Chase Ends With Arrest in Concord

A Novato man was taken into custody in Concord Wednesday night after a pursuit of  and California Highway Patrol officers through the North Bay that at times reached 90 mph, according to reports.

The suspect was detained on the shoulder of Highway 680 near the Willow Pass Road exit in Concord, the CHP said. A SIG alert was issued at 9:31 p.m. and the highway was temporarily closed because of police activity.

The suspect was identified on police radio as Robert Bruce Adair, a former military police officer who turned 61 years old Wednesday. He was booked into Marin County Jail at 1:35 a.m. Thursday.

The pursuit began in Novato at about 7:20 p.m. when Novato police responded to reports of domestic violence, CHP Officer Peter Van Eckhardt said. Officers watching for the suspect's red Toyota Tacoma pickup spotted the vehicle later and followed it down South Novato Boulevard and onto eastbound Highway 37 at normal speeds. After the suspect passed into Sonoma and Solano counties, pursuing Novato police officers reported the suspect reaching 85 to 90 mph.

CHP officers laid down spiked strips that pop tires at a bridge near Mare Island, but the suspect pulled off the highway, Van Eckhardt said. From there, CHP officers took over the pursuit and followed the suspect through Vallejo, Benicia, over the Benicia-Martinez Bridge and into Concord, he said.

Van Eckhardt said the pursuit ended at about 9:40 p.m. when the suspect pulled over onto the highway shoulder, possibly with popped tires from a spike strip. The suspect was detained through use of force — Concord police dogs were at the scene — but did not require hospitalization, Van Eckhardt said.

Adair faces one felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and misdemeanors of driving while impaired, resisting a police officer, failure to obey and officer and reckless driving.

A CHP helicopter said to have been called in for that chase was also seen and heard circling over Concord Boulevard 9:45 p.m. Claycord.com posted to its Facebook page the helicopter over North Concord was answering a separate and unrelated call around that time that didn't turn out to be serious. 

— Patch staff and Bay City News contributed to this report.