RANGELY I Talk about joy riding.
Zack Shelburg, 19, was arrested Oct. 27 and charged with 23 counts after leading authorities on a chase through town.
“The man began riding his dirt bike in circles in what seemed to be an attempt to get attention from local law enforcement,” said Clay Caldwell of the Rangely Police Department. “The man rode around the (town hall) building several times, causing damage to the property.”
Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s deputies attempted to flag down Shelburg to convince him to pull over. According to the report, Shelburg “flipped the officers off and fled.”
At that point, the chase was on.
Shelburg rode through town — including past a school bus that had its red lights flashing and was unloading schoolchildren — and on to county roads.
“The pursuit ended near Gilliam Draw on County Road 133, where deputies and officers lost the dirt bike,” Caldwell said. “Officers backtracked and found where the dirt bike had turned into a wash. The Rangely Police Department K9 unit deployed. K9 Rio located the suspect approximately 200 yards later. The suspect had attempted to hide the dirt bike and was fleeing on foot. The suspect quickly gave up after seeing the K9 and was taken into custody.”
Shelburg was charged with criminal mischief, a class 4 felony; vehicular eluding, a class 5 felony; nine counts of reckless endangerment; and several other misdemeanor and traffic violations. He was booked into the Rio Blanco County Detention Center.