OFF THE WIRE
http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/harford/ph-ag-bikers-0727-20110726,0,5732581.story Early morning motorcycle pursuits through Harford County result in arrests
BY KIRSTEN DIZE, kdize@theaegis.com
Two high speed chases involving motorcycles resulted in arrests last week with the riders reaching speeds of up to 100 mph on Harford County roads, state police have confirmed.
Law enforcement sources said the two motorcycle riders have suspected ties to the Outlaws Motorcycle Gang.
Around 1:36 a.m. July 20, a Maryland State Police trooper captured on radar two motorcycles at high speeds on the Route 1 Bypass south of Route 924, according to state police with the Bel Air Barrack.
Topics Bel Air (Harford, Maryland) Bel Air (Allegany, Maryland) Cecil County TFC Jon Sawa and TFC James Davis began pursuing the motorcycles and as they approached the intersection with Route 543, one motorcycle rider went north on Route 543 while the other continued north on Route 1, according to state police. The troopers split and each continued pursing a rider.
Not long after turning off, the rider on Route 543, a 31-year-old man, peacefully surrendered.
The other rider allegedly continued driving erratically and weaving up Route 1 at speeds of 85 to 100 mph, according to police.
As Sawa and another trooper pursued the rider, Sawa noticed him reach in his saddlebag and allegedly throw metal studs onto the road in attempt to puncture the tires of the patrol cars in pursuit, according to police.
The motorcycle crossed the Conowingo Dam into Cecil County, scraping against the concrete barrier of the dam, according to police. At the intersection with Rowlandsville Road, troopers stopped the motorcycle and the rider allegedly pushed his Harley Davidson toward a patrol car then ran, according to police.
During a scuffle with troopers, the man allegedly tried to take Sawa's firearm and bit Sawa in the arm, according to police.
Other details, including the men's names, were not released. An investigation is ongoing, a police source said.
