A Schuylkill County man is facing charges after he allegedly attempted to flee police on his dirt bike until it broke down on him.
Police in Frackville say they observed two dirt bike riders in the 300 block of Arch St. on Jan. 9.
When the riders reportedly saw police, they attempted to book it the wrong way on Third St., blowing through several Stop signs.
Police say they gave pursuit of the dirt bikes to the area of Memorial Park, at Spring St. Both rider made several turns and maneuvers at a high rate of speed, eventually ending up on W. High St., near the area of the Frackville softball field, police say.
One of the riders – later identified as 23-year-old Phoenix Baldwin, of Frackville – appeared to suffer some sort of mechanical failure with his bike and had to stop. This allowed police to catch up to and detain him, they say.
Baldwin reportedly told police he didn’t know the identity of the other rider as he’d just met him that night. He allegedly claimed that he’s new in the area, coming from Scranton.
Police have charged Baldwin with a misdemeanor count of fleeing police and summary counts of operating an off-road vehicle in a municipality, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, and careless driving.
Baldwin has been ordered to appear at a preliminary hearing on Feb. 18 before Magisterial District Judge Edward Tarantelli.
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