A Live Oak man led police on a high-speed chase Tuesday night. Police accused him of breaking into a Gainesville motorcycle dealership and then riding off on a stolen bike.
Police arrested Joseph Keith Platt, 44, of 11604 235th Road, and charged him with burglary, grand theft auto and fleeing and eluding police, among other charges.
Just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, a Gainesville police officer responded to a burglary alarm at Streit’s Motorsports on Northwest 13th Street, GPD spokeswoman Sgt. Tscharna Senn said.
Senn said the officer heard banging noises coming from behind the dealership. The officer investigated the noise and found Platt wheeling a motorcycle out of the building.
When the officer confronted Platt, he fled north on the stolen bike, she said.
Mike Jones, owner of Streit’s Motorsports, said Platt cut a hole in the building’s side wall to get inside.
When Platt walked on the showroom floor, the building’s motion-sensitive alarm went off, Jones said.
As the alarm rang, police said, Platt swiped a helmet, jacket, gloves and money from a cash register.
Platt broke open a shipping entrance door and started to wheel out a 2011 Yamaha R1 bike, worth about $13,600, Jones said.
Senn said police chased Platt about 11 miles north as he drove up the wrong side of Northwest 13th Street to the city of Alachua.
Once in Alachua, Platt hit an Alachua Police car with the motorcycle on Northwest 148th Place and ran off, according to an APD report.
Police used a Taser on Platt, but he got back up and continued running. APD spokesman Detective Jesse Sandusky said Platt’s motorcycle jacket took most of the Taser shock.
Officers used pepper spray, but Platt was still able to escape.
Alachua police dogs and Gainesville police tracked him down. Police eventually arrested him at 10:49 p.m. at the 12000 block of Northwest 147th Place, Sandusky said.
As of Wednesday night, Platt remains in Alachua County Jail. His bond has not been set.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
