Charles man found guilty in high-speed police pursuit in Calvert County
A Charles County man was found guilty of various traffic offenses by a Calvert County jury Tuesday for a September incident where he and another man led deputies of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office on a high-speed chase while riding their motorcycles.
Joseph Carlos Proctor, 40, of Pomfret was indicted on charges of negligent driving, reckless driving, exceeding the speed limit, attempting to flee, possession of drug paraphernalia and eluding a police officer, along with numerous other traffic violations, according to online court records. His co-defendant, Marcus Dewayne Fletcher, 42, of Waldorf, faced similar charges.
The charges stem from Sept. 7, when the Calvert Control Center issued a lookout for several motorcycles being operated in a reckless manner heading north on Route 4 from the St. Leonard area, according to previous reports.
Dfc. R. Wilson observed the three motorcycles traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph. Wilson activated his emergency lights and siren, but none of the motorcycles pulled over or slowed down in the posted 45 mph zone near Old Field Lane in Prince Frederick. When the traffic light at Route 4 and Church Street turned red, one motorcyclist stopped at the light and the other two turned onto Church Street.
Fletcher, pursued by Cpl. T. Smith, continued down Church Street toward Main Street, maneuvering through traffic barriers, previous reports state. Smith lost sight of the vehicle as it continued down to Dares Beach Road, where Det. N. DeFelice located it and began pursuit. Fletcher continued to the traffic circle on Dares Beach Road at Armory Road, where other units attempted to box him in, but he went onto the sidewalk. Fletcher then struck a vehicle, but continued to flee. DeFelice positioned his vehicle to prevent the escape of the motorcycle, which ended up striking his vehicle. The motorcycle fell down and Fletcher started running, but was captured.
Proctor turned left on Heritage Boulevard after turning on Church Street and turned into the parking lot of the Shell gas station, according to previous reports. Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Morgan said Proctor reached speeds of 117 mph in a 55 mph speed limit zone. Wilson followed and attempted to block the motorcycle in when it turned into the Midas Car Repair parking lot, resulting in the motorcycle making contact with the front bumper of his patrol vehicle. Proctor was ejected from the bike and subsequently arrested.
The operator of the motorcycle who stopped at the red light was able to successfully elude capture.
Proctor was found guilty of reckless driving, driving a vehicle on a highway exceeding the speed limit and attempt by driver to elude police in an official police vehicle by failing to stop. Proctor was sentenced to a year of incarceration with all but 10 days suspended. He was further given suspended $500 fines for the other two charges.
Proctor will begin serving his sentence Monday, and was given credit for one day he served while in pretrial custody. He was also placed on three years of supervised probation to commence upon his release from the detention center.
On May 13, Fletcher pled guilty to attempting to elude police by failing to stop and failing to stop after an accident involving damage to an attended vehicle. He was sentenced to two years and 60 days with all but six months suspended. Fletcher was placed on three years of unsupervised probation.