An Ocklawaha man found himself behind bars last week after allegedly leading Marion County sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase while riding a stolen motorcycle.
A sheriff’s lieutenant on Wednesday afternoon saw a black Harley-Davidson Sportster traveling north on County 464C and noticed that it matched the description of a motorcycle that had been reported stolen two days earlier. The lieutenant stopped the motorcycle in the 9600 block of S Hwy. 464C and as he approached the driver, later identified as 32-year-old William David Curtis, he sped away heading northbound on County Road 314A heading toward State Road 40, a sheriff’s office report says.
The lieutenant pursued the motorcycle, which was traveling in excess of 80 mph and passing numerous vehicles. He then spotted the motorcycle crashed on the side of the roadway in the 3900 block of 314A, with Curtis fleeing on foot, the report says.
Sheriff’s deputies set up a perimeter and called in a helicopter and a K-9 unit, but they couldn’t locate Curtis. The lieutenant discovered that the license tag didn’t belong on the motorcycle and confirmed the Harley was stolen in Marion County, the report says.
Curtis eventually was located near the intersection of SE 27th Place Road and County Road 314A. A witness from the motorcycle crash responded to the scene and positively identified Curtis, who lives in the 11400 block of County Road 464C in Ocklawaha, as the person who was riding the stolen motorcycle, the report says.
After a computer check revealed that Curtis’ South Carolina driver’s license was suspended in April for failure to pay a traffic fine, he was transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with eluding a law enforcement officer with lights and siren active, grand theft of a motor vehicle and driving while license suspended (first offense). He was being held on $8,000 bond and is due in court Oct. 15 at 9 a.m.