Dirt bike dirt bag dumps daughter

A Tumwater man with a suspended driver’s license was arrested after allegedly speeding on a dirt bike with his 9-year-old daughter on board, then evading police.

Tumwater police arrested the 29-year-old suspect on June 6 after an officer noticed a red dirt bike traveling southbound on Capitol Boulevard at Trosper Road.

“The driver was revving the engine,” the officer wrote in his report. “I could see a small child sitting in front of the adult rider. Both were wearing helmets.”

The bike was not roadworthy and unsafe for the child because it had no mirrors, rear lights, or license plate, police said.

The suspect sped up to 40 mph in a 35-mph zone, the officer said, prompting him to activate his emergency lights and give chase.

“The rider looked back at me. He could clearly see me. I was in a fully marked and equipped patrol car with my emergency lights activated. I could see the rider’s eyes. There is no way he did not know I was behind him,” the officer wrote.

The suspect then looked forward and kept driving, turning left onto U Street.

The officer said the suspect turned too fast, causing him to slide a little and put his foot down onto the road to keep his balance.

The suspect looked at the police car again when the officer turned on his emergency siren, according to the police report. The man accelerated “much higher than the posted 25 mph speed limit.”

For the safety of the child

The officer said he turned off his emergency lights and siren for the safety of the child. The suspect then made another quick turn that caused him to slide.

The bike went down on the intersection of Margot Place and Pinehurst Drive as the driver attempted to turn onto Elm Street, the officer said, noting that he saw “a bunch of sparks shoot up and out from the bike as it slid.”

The officer said that the suspect was back on his feet and trying to restart his bike when he arrived at the intersection. He ordered the suspect to stop, but the man continued trying to start his bike.

The suspect was handcuffed after the officer threatened to use a taser on him. The officer called out to the child, who initially could not be found at the scene, and she came out of a bush uninjured.

Police said the suspect insisted that he did not see the patrol car nor know that authorities were trying to stop him.

The suspect told the officer that he thought police had pulled into a shop on Capitol Boulevard because the emergency lights were turned off at that point. “I had, in fact, not turned my lights off until after I passed the shop,” the officer wrote.

The officer also noted that the suspect rode past his own house, something that he would not have done if he wasn’t attempting to flee.

A search of the suspect yielded 11 pills believed to be fentanyl. The suspect said the pills were given to him by someone who owes him money. He denied using them.

Not his bike

A check of the bike did not return a registered owner. The suspect told police that the vehicle belonged to a friend but was unable to provide a name or phone number for the supposed friend.

Authorities confirmed that the suspect had multiple warrants, including one for resisting arrest and another for driving while license suspended.

The suspect was booked into the Thurston County Jail for eluding police vehicle, reckless endangerment, and driving with a suspended license. The daughter was taken by the suspect’s mother.

The JOLT does not publish the names of suspects in situations in which a child might be identified from the facts of a story.