Motorcyclist runs from traffic stop, then 20-minute chase

Man on motorcycle in custody after a winding, weaving chase in the valley

It was a very active 20-minutes or so Monday afternoon as a traffic stop resulted in a pursuit that ended in a field off Greene Lane.

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- UPDATE: Officials at the Campbell County Jail detail that the suspect is 52-year old David Norris of La Follette. Norris is in the booking process, and the report on his charges is still in progress.

Authorities said a man riding a motorcycle was pulled over on a routine traffic stop just before 4pm Monday. At the Bread Box on the east side of La Follette is where a sheriff’s deputy came in contact with the rider and his bike.

“He ran from them,” said one official. The motorcycle headed east up the valley, and in the process allegedly threw a bag into the weeds near Skyview Drive. One deputy went to search for the bag believing it was methamphetamine, reports said.

The chase turned off Stiner Highway at Big O’s with speeds reportedly reaching 80 miles per hour on Old Middlesboro Highway. One sergeant called off the markers; Glade Springs Road, Judy’s Grocery and Knox Hollow Road. The cyclist turned south into Valley View Estates. Deputies believed the man was headed to his home on East Goins Road, but he did not turn there.

La Follette Police Officer Zack Daugherty with K-9 Morris assisted the county officers. The cyclist crashed on Greene Lane with K-9 Morris apprehending the suspect in a field after a brief chase.

The pursuit continued weaving and winding its way passing Sweat Lane and East Goins again. Over the police radio, one deputy requested permission to use the pit maneuver with a negative response indicating deputies were trying to keep the suspect from being injured, officials said.

Howard Road was one of the other roads where the chase traveled before ending up over on the Stiner Highway passing the Frontier Store and the Dollar General Store. The cyclist turned south off Stiner onto Greene Lane with one deputy saying that the suspect had only one way out.

La Follette Police Officer Zack Daugherty with K-9 Morris CORRECTION: K-9 Goose assisted the county officers. The cyclist crashed on Greene Lane with K-9 Goose apprehending the suspect in a field after a brief chase.

The incident took the better part of a half hour.

Campbell Chief Deputy Cody Chapman came over the radio thanking all the officers for a “great job.” (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 09/23/2024-4:45PM-PHOTOS SUBMITTED)