A man in Amsterdam, New York, is facing new charges after allegedly driving a motorcycle under the influence and crashing into a patrol vehicle. Shockingly, the man has a whopping 72 license suspensions and revocations, most of them still active.
According to a press release issued by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), the incident occurred on Saturday, May 23. At the time, 52-year-old John S. Becker Jr., as per the release, was operating a Suzuki motorcycle in Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam Police Department (APD), then, attempted to conduct a traffic stop at the time. Becker, however, fled, triggering a pursuit, the MCSO alleged.
Shortly after, MCSO deputies were requested to assist. Becker, as per the release, left Amsterdam on Highway 30 and drove toward the Town of Florida.
Pursuit Follows
Eventually, APD units discontinued their pursuit. An MCSO deputy, however, then observed Becker driving on Highway 161 into the Town of Glen.
Another MCSO deputy arrived at the intersection of Highway 161 and Highway 30A. Caught off guard by the deputy’s presence, Becker attempted to make a U-Turn, the release detailed.
However, the 52-year-old man’s motorbike stalled out. Deputies, seeing this, approached Becker to make the arrest. However, he managed to restart his vehicle and allegedly attempted to flee once again.
Suspect Crashes, Arrested, Charged
However, it was during this second flee attempt that Becker struck a patrol car’s push-bumper, the MCSO detailed. As a result, he lost control of his motorbike and fell onto the ground.
Becker was immediately taken into custody. Investigators later found that he was allegedly intoxicated during the whole pursuit and in possession of an open container of liquor and crack cocaine paraphernalia. Furthermore, Becker is accused of refusing to submit to a chemical test to determine his alcohol and drug content in his blood.
The New York man is charged with first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, driving while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle without insurance, operating an unregistered motorcycle, operating a motorcycle with an improper license plate, failure to use due care passing an emergency vehicle, and criminal mischief.
72 License Suspensions
However, further review of DMV records indicated that Becker’s license had been suspended and revoked multiple times since 2009. In total, he has 72 suspensions and revocations, 48 of them still active.
Furthermore, Becker also has two convictions for driving while impaired. Those, however, occurred over 10 years ago, explaining why he only got a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge.
If convicted of his most serious offense, he could face up to a 5-year prison sentence and be fined up to $5,000. After his arraignment in Florida Town Court, he was remanded without bail, pending proceedings in Glen Town Court.