A 21-year-old Reading man on an unregistered motor scooter led police on a meandering chase through the city over the weekend, running stop signs and red lights, riding on sidewalks and going the wrong way on several one-way streets, police said.
Clevelyn D. Rosario-Leyba was finally stopped and surrendered to officers without further incident in the 200 block of North 11th Street following the chase that began about 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
When asked why he fled, he reportedly told one of the officers that a family member had informed him of the police department’s policy of confiscating dirt bikes, ATVs and other unregistered vehicles after catching riders driving them illegally on streets, according to court papers.
Rosario-Leyba of the 400 block of North 10th Street was free on $5,000 bail to await a hearing following arraignment Saturday night before District Judge Carissa L. Johnson in Reading Central Court.
Rosario-Leyba is charged with fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, reckless driving, driving an registered vehicle, driving under a suspected license, fraudulent use of or removal of a registration plate and numerous traffic counts.
According to the arrest papers:
Two police officers were in an unmarked patrol car as part of the Reading police dirt bike task force. They were southbound on South 10th Street when they saw a man on a motorized scooter with a fraudulent license plate that had been manufactured to look like a Pennsylvania plate.
The plate had no raised letters. An officer got no results when he inputted the numbers into a database.
The police car pulled alongside the rider. The officer in the front passenger seat took a photo of the rider.
The officer ordered the rider to pull over, but he immediately turned east into the 900 block of Spruce Street and sped off.
The officers in the unmarked car pursued the rider north on South Ninth Street, west on Bingaman Street, north on Chestnut Street, east on Franklin Street and the wrong way on Orange, Maple and Cherry streets before they broke off pursuit.
Other officers picked up the chase north on North Ninth, east on Court, north on Moss and east (the wrong way) on Washington Street to North 11th, where the rider surrendered.
Reading police started a dirt bike patrol due to complaints about riders of noisy off-road vehicles creating a nuisance by driving on sidewalks and ignoring traffic laws.
According to PennDOT, in order for a motor scooter (motor-driven cycle as defined by the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code) to be legally operated on roads, it must be titled and registered in the state and have the proper insurance. In order to be titled and registered it must meet the state’s equipment and inspection requirements.
Many motor scooters, as well as dirt bikes, do not have necessary equipment such as fenders, turn signals and lights.
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