Seattle,WA, Three bikers charged in state trooper's crash

OFF THE WIRE
By LEVI PULKKINEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Three motorcyclists accused of prompting a state trooper to crash as he pursued them toward a Hooters restaurant in South Park have pleaded not guilty.

Charging each of the men with attempting to elude police and reckless driving, King County prosecutors claim Kevin R. Reyes, Christopher Lee Anderson and Rodney Alexander II caused the rollover crash while fleeing police on August 10.

At 6:20 p.m. that day, a State Patrol trooper was pulled over on state Route 167 when 30 to 40 motorcyclists riding sport bikes passed by. Several of the bikers popped wheelies as they passed, prompting the trooper to notify other law enforcement of the group.

According to charging documents, a witness would later tell police the motorcyclists -- including Reyes, identified as the head of the Demon Dogz motorcycle club -- were headed to Hooters in South Park for a "Two Wheel Tuesday" event.

Another trooper stopped on Interstate 405 near the intersection with SR 167 noticed that there were no other cars on the interstate, an unusual state of affairs for a Tuesday evening.

According to charging documents, the trooper then saw that several motorcycles had blocked off the freeway while others were performing stunts. The trooper was attempting to contact the motorcyclists when three blew past him, one of whom was traveling at 80 to 90 miles per hour.

As the trooper pursued, the three motorcyclists charged in court documents weaved through traffic as they merged onto Interstate 5, a State Patrol detective told the court. The three then exited onto state Route 599 at about 95 miles per hour.

Inside the curve, Anderson passed the other two motorcyclists, who then drifted in front of the trooper's cruiser, the detective continued. The trooper braked, causing his car to skip and then roll.

Prosecutors contend Reyes went on to threaten members of the motorcycle club.

"Reyes … threatened all members of the Demon Dogz to keep their 'mouths shut' about the incident," the State Patrol detective told the court. "Reyes has threatened members on several occasions about talking and has mentioned the (outlaw motorcycle gang the) Banditos in his threats."

Confronted by police, all three men denied any wrongdoing. All pleaded not guilty Monday morning.

Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.