Sheboygan County prosecutors charged Jesse L. Lider Jr. with attempting to flee or elude an officer.
SHEBOYGAN – A motorcyclist who police say popped a wheelie before leading an officer on a 60-plus-mph chase through residential Sheboygan neighborhoods this weekend is facing a felony.
Sheboygan County prosecutors charged Jesse L. Lider Jr. with attempting to flee or elude an officer on Monday, a day after police reported chasing him across the city’s north side. If convicted, the 26-year-old Sheboygan man could face up to 3½ years in prison and on extended supervision, along with as much as a $10,000 fine.
Lider, whose license police said was suspended at the time of the chase, could also face a 6-month revocation if convicted.
An officer first noticed the red-and-white Honda motorcycle traveling at an estimated 50 mph along the 1700 block of Martin Avenue on Sunday morning. Near the intersection of Martin Avenue and 18th Street, the officer said he saw the cyclist perform a wheelie, driving on just its rear tire.
The officer tried stopping the cyclist, whom prosecutors allege accelerated rapidly and failed to stop at several stop signs. At one point, the officer clocked his own speed at about 63 mph, and told prosecutors that even at that speed, he wasn’t catching up.
The pursuit covered several north-side residential streets before the officer reported eventually losing sight of the driver and calling off the chase.
Officers with the Plymouth Police Department and Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office later reported stopping the suspected motorcycle near the corner of County Highways O and E.
Lider told police he’d fled and that he knew his license was suspended, but otherwise “had no other explanation for his behavior,” prosecutors wrote in their complaint.