Motorcyclist Busted After Boasting of High Speed Chase on Facebook: Police

LAKE ORION, MI — A motorcycle rider from Rochester Hills man accused of leading police on a 140 mph high speed chase earlier this month — and then bragging about it on social media — turned himself in at the Lake Orion Police Department Tuesday and faces multiple charges, authorities said.

Michael Thomas Brown, 33, was arraigned Tuesday in 52-3 District Court on a felony count of fleeing a police officer, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $1,000 fine, and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving, punishable by 93 days in jail and a $500 fine. Magistrate Marie Soma set bond at $5,000 and ordered Brown to appear in court again on Aug. 2 for a probable cause hearing before 52-3 District Judge Julie Nicholson.

Police said Brown left the Sagebrush Catina, located on South Broadway Street, on his motorcycle about 2:15 a.m. on the morning of July 2. Officer Brian Martinez was stopped a block away at a traffic light at the intersection of East Flint and South Broadway when he "observed Brown performing a loud and aggressive brake torque in the street in a reckless manner," Lake Orion Police Chief Jerry Narsh said in a news release.

Martinez activated his emergency lights, pulled next to Brown and got out of his vehicle and was about to question Brown when, "almost without hesitation, (Brown) looked directly at the officer and makes the decision to flee at a very high rate of speed" on South Broadway toward M-24.

"Officer Martinez activates his siren as he pursues the motorcycle and observes him run a stop sign at a very high rate of speed onto southbound M-24, where the motorcycle rapidly accelerates as he flees the officer," Narsh continued. "The officer was unable to locate the motorcycle in less than a half mile from the time the motorcycle entered M-24. Officer Martinez radioed dispatch that he was no longer in sight of the vehicle and ended the pursuit."

Police didn't have much to go on until July 4, when someone sent a screenshot of a Facebook post Brown had allegedly made. It noted the chase reached speeds of 140 mph in a 35 mph zone and "provided information about the crime that only the officer and the rider would know," Narsh said.

The chase put the lives of others at risk, Narsh said.

"The single most dangerous thing most people will do every day is get behind the wheel of a car," he said. "When someone flees from the police or drives in a willful and reckless manner they put us all at risk."

Image: Lake Orion Police booking photo