Motorcyclist Flees Traffic Stop, Becomes Manhunt in Santa Rita

Police attempted to stop a motorcyclist to warn him about a broken taillight. But the biker didn’t want to talk to police. After a short ride evading the police, the biker laid his bike down and fled on foot.

He’s a white male wearing camouflage pants and running from police through the Santa Rita neighborhood. The pursuit started near Jackson Street and Live Oak when the suspect crashed a bike and fled on foot.

A perimeter covering several square blocks was put into place and police are searching through yards and alleyways.

Home Motors loaded the bike onto a flatbed wrecker and took it to the impounding lot off Christoval Road.

This is a breaking news story and we will update it as more information is available.

Video of the manhunt:

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Update 11:10 p.m.

It started as an innocuous traffic stop at Knickerbocker Road and Currier Street at around 9:15 p.m.  “He just didn’t have a taillight,” said John Rodriguez, the San Angelo police officer who initially pursued the motorcyclist. When police attempted to stop him, he took off, turning north and headed past the east side of Angelo State University. By the time the pursuing officer was able to get back into the car and pursue the suspect, he was already several blocks away.

“I saw his shadow turn westbound on University. He stopped at University at Jackson Street. As soon as he made that turn north on Jackson, I never got closer that maybe a block and a half. If he pulled further any away from me, I would have called the chase off,” Rodriguez said.

The motorcyclist lost it at a fairly high rate of speed it at Live Oak Street and Jackson. “The bike skidded about 400 feet in the crash,” the officer said. As the officer approached the crash scene, the suspect fled on foot, running westbound on Live Oak.

The suspect is a white male wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage pants. “I’d say he was 6-foot and around 170 pounds,” police said.

Two K-9 units are searching throughout Santa Rita. Police said that they are working all angles to apprehend him, including running his vehicle’s registration.

Police believe the suspect is injured from the crash. “Whether it’s life-threatening or not, I would definitely think he’s injured,” police said.

“We’ll back off a little bit. Everyone in the neighborhood knows we’re out here. Maybe a neighbor will see something suspicious and call us,” police said.

As of 11 p.m., police were searching for the suspect near the 1700 block of South Van Buren. Someone radioed that he was hiding in a tree.

Ben Tinsley and John Basquez contributed to this report.