Ferndale Dine and Dash Leads to High-Speed Chase, Arrest

Ferndale Police arrested a 35-year-old Detroit man on Tuesday after officers say he didn't pay his restaurant bill and then led police on a high-speed chase.

Police received a call from Buffalo Wild Wings on Nine Mile Road on Tuesday about a customer who failed to pay for a bill, which totaled about $16, according to a news release from Ferndale Police.

The caller described the person and the vehicle the man left in. Shortly after, a Ferndale officer saw the car on Eight Mile and Livernois. He and and a patrol sergeant stopped the suspect vehicle at Livernois and Pembroke, the report states.

Police said they talked to the suspect about the bill and gave him the chance to return to the restaurant. As the officers stood next to the man, he put the car in gear, turned into the traffic lane - causing the officers to move or be run over - yelled an obscenity at them and sped off, the report states.

Officers followed the vehicle at high speeds through Detroit streets down Livernois and Seven Mile Road, according to police.

Police said officers stopped chasing the suspect as he fled onto neighborhood streets, "due to factors including the minor nature of the original reported crime and that officers knew the identity of the suspect," the report states.

Officers then went to the area of the suspect's house to see if he went home. About 20 minutes later they saw him drive up to his house, get out of the car, and attempt to go into his house. Officers stopped him and arrested him for fleeing and eluding and failure to pay his restaurant bill, according to the report.

The case has been presented to the prosecutor’s office and the suspect will likely be arraigned Wednesday afternoon, police said. The suspect has a criminal past that includes theft and Criminal Sexual Conduct, according to the report.