Squid outruns cops, brags on 'net......surprise!

[PeteSC]

Posted on Tue, May. 17, 2005
 
 
 
Officer recognizes bragging post on Internet. Man charged in February high-speed chase

By Gina Mace

Special to the Beacon Journal


NORTON - A motorcyclist who outran a Norton police officer during a high-speed chase in February was arrested after the officer identified the cyclist through an Internet post bragging about the incident on the Star Boyz Web site.

Raef Canter, 18, of New Franklin, was 17 on Feb. 14 when he took a 17-year-old friend for a ride on his 1988 Suzuki GSX-R 750 around 2:30 a.m.

He faces charges of delinquency by reason of fleeing police, reckless operation, speeding, no motorcycle endorsement, unauthorized use of plates, obstructed plate and failure to obey a traffic control device.

Norton police officer Dennis McDonald was patrolling state Route 21 when he clocked the bike in excess of 100 mph. He turned and gave chase, but called off the pursuit as the bike neared Fairlawn.

McDonald spotted the bike again on Medina Road near Acme Fresh Market in Bath Township. As he tried to get close enough to get a plate number and description, the driver spotted a Fairlawn cruiser and sped up.

``I wasn't in pursuit,'' McDonald said. ``I wanted to get a better description of the bike in case we saw it again.''

McDonald continued to follow the bike as best he could, as the motorcyclist rode 50 to 60 mph on Copley Road.

``He was taking the curves pretty slowly, driving pretty responsibly,'' McDonald said.

Once the cyclist cleared the railroad tracks at Copley Circle, he accelerated to more than 140 mph, McDonald said.

Bragging on Internet

As pursuits go, this seemed destined to be the one that got away -- until the officer heard about a post on StarBoyz.com, the Web site of a group of extreme motorcycle stunt riders known for their antics on public highways.

In an April 28 post under the subject ``Tales from the Streets FTP Style,'' someone who called himself ``rc138705'' bragged about outrunning three cruisers while carrying a passenger.

FTP stands for ``F--- The Police.''

``My friend comes over on (sic) night and he wants to go for a ride so I take him out on 21 and open the bike out well my luck a Norton cop passes on the other side when I was slowing down, I was doing about 90, I didn't really think he would try to chase a bike so I speed up to about 120... ''

McDonald said he knew when he read the post that the writer was the cyclist he chased in February.

So he joined the Web site, read other posts ``rc138705'' had written and discovered the cyclist was planning to sell the bike he was riding the night of the pursuit.

A motorcycle enthusiast himself, McDonald owns a newer model of the same bike. So, he e-mailed ``rc138705'' and expressed an interest in buying it.

``We e-mailed back and forth five or six times,'' McDonald said. ``I asked different questions about the bike and pretended that I didn't read the section about the police chase, that all I did was read the classified ads.''

When the cyclist e-mailed McDonald his phone number, McDonald traced it to Canter.

McDonald arranged to meet Canter on Saturday so that McDonald could look over the bike.

When they met, McDonald said he mentioned a post he read in the classified section that intimated that Canter's bike had been used to outrun the police.

``I asked him what that was about,'' McDonald said. ``He told me: `That's all I've done on this bike is run from the cops.' He said: `Every time I go out, they chase me.' ''

McDonald said Canter then told him the story of the February chase, and even told him that he could read the whole story on the Web site.

``He got all excited that I was interested in the story,'' the officer said, ``and started bragging away about it.''

Badge revealed

McDonald said he asked to test-drive the bike, and Canter said he would ride it first to warm it up. When he pulled back into the driveway, a Norton cruiser pulled in behind him.

``He didn't know why they were there,'' McDonald said. ``He started coming up with excuses, telling them I was there to buy the bike and he knew it had bad plates on it.''

That's when McDonald flashed his badge.

``I told him, `I'm the officer you ran from on 21,' '' McDonald said. ``He got white as a ghost and just stood there.''

Reached by phone Monday, Canter said he has been riding for about 10 years, starting on dirt bikes. He said he got the idea to run from police by reading the Star Boyz Web site.

``The Star Boyz do it. Everyone else on that Web site does it. I know a lot of people who do it and they get away with it and tell their stories,'' Canter said. ``I knew he couldn't catch me if I tried to get away. I didn't know it was a serious thing.''

`An everyday ride'

Canter said he usually did his fast riding late at night, and he stayed in the middle of the road so that cars would see the bright light from the motorcycle and wouldn't pull out into its path.

``It's dangerous,'' Canter said, ``but it didn't feel crazy. It felt normal to me. Just an everyday ride, really.''

Canter said he doesn't smoke or do drugs. He said riding is a way to fight boredom.

``I'd rather hang out with people who outrun cops,'' he said, ``than people who sit around and smoke dope.''

But, Canter said, his running days are over.

``I made a bad choice that night,'' he said. ``There's no way I'd ever run again.''

He was booked Saturday by Norton police and released pending an appearance in juvenile court.

McDonald, who has been riding for nine years, said he has nothing against stunt cyclists.

``When you get on the bike, it's a rush,'' he said. ``They're made to go fast and you want to go fast.

``If they're doing the shows on the track, fine,'' he said. ``But on Ohio roads with potholes -- if Canter had hit a pothole where I'd clocked him, we would have two dead 17-year-olds.''
 



         

 

[WEINERDOGBONE]

Personally, I'd rather have the dumb##s smoking dope. He is only endangering himself with weed. I enjoyed that story.

[PeteSC]

It is cool, the dummy got caught, and didn't hurt anyone!

    I just wonder if the fact he was 17 when he ran from the cops will mean he gets a break?
   He WAS 18 when they arrested him, and he did rack up some new violations as an 18 year old by riding the bike in front of the officer when he 'warmed it up'.

  This is one of those situations where the jerk should not be allowed to have ANY sort of license for a long time......

[B6Matt]

That's a pretty good story.  That cop went a long way to "get his man."  BTW, that happened in the Akron area, my ol' stopin' grounds.  

When I was about 20, I may have quickly turned into a neighborhood when I sensed that a passing law enforcement officer was turning around to express his interest in my riding habits, but no high speed stuff.  However, the statute of limitations has run anyway.

[PeteSC]

Dittos, Matt.   I started riding small, street legal bikes when I was 15.
  We were legal, but sometimes drew the attention of the local police, for various reasons.   (Speed, giving somebody a ride without a helmet, etc.)
In the small beach town  I lived in, it was easy to outrun the cops, or at least outmanuever them, by cutting through the woods....sneaking around back streets, etc.
   Even though there were only a few bikes in the town, it took a LONG time for the local, pretty dumb, cop, to learn to recognize the bike, and connect it to where the rider lived.
   We used to haul arse home, hide the bike behind the house, and run inside.  
  Sometimes the cop would pull up to the house, right as we were slamming the door.  'Who me?  Naw.  Been home all afternoon."
  As he finally got smart, he wouldn't chase us, but make a beeline to where he knew we lived, and be waiting for us in the driveway to come sneaking home....
  It kind of put a damper on our little 'game'.   But, damn, that cop was dumb!   It took quite a while before he outsmarted us.....

 
  Thank gawd we're talking about a 150-175cc bike...otherwise, I'd probably have killed myself!

[jfudo]

That whole post is still up on the starboyz forum.  It turned into a huge argument between these idiots and a few cops that started posting.  Pretty entertaining yet sad at the same time, the opinions that these retards have of our police enforcement is completely rediculous.  They don't understand.

Sorry, I realize that this post is useless without the link.  It seems to have been deleted, but here's the forum where you can see similar

http://www.starboyz.com/vboard/forumdisplay.php?s=941f80e6188f8c6c039b9153b284c44f&forumid=16&pagenumber=1&sortfield=lastpost&sortorder=desc&daysprune=100&x=9&y=13

[PeteSC]

Every 'stuntah fool' squid that runs from the cops, makes it more dangerous for every other rider, and less likely that we'll get a break if stopped.
 A lot of cops don't know the difference between a 'crotch rocket', and a Bandit.  Particularily if they're cruiser riders, anything that's not a cruiser, or a dirt bike, must be a 'crotch rocket.'

  I'm not even mentioning the  danger they pose to the public...............

   It's not the 'stunts' I object to.  It's the 'stupid'.

[chippi]

Too skared to get cought
I love the rush but NY state troopers don't mes around.... man they got helicopters in my area.

I need to find a track

[snofrog]

That whole post is still up on the starboyz forum.  It turned into a huge argument between these idiots and a few cops that started posting.  Pretty entertaining yet sad at the same time, the opinions that these retards have of our police enforcement is completely rediculous.  They don't understand.

Sorry, I realize that this post is useless without the link.  It seems to have been deleted, but here's the forum where you can see similar

http://www.starboyz.com/vboard/forumdisplay.php?s=941f80e6188f8c6c039b9153b284c44f&forumid=16&pagenumber=1&sortfield=lastpost&sortorder=desc&daysprune=100&x=9&y=13

i feel as though my IQ has gone down 20 point`s just by   going to that site and reading some of that drivell