Local News in Brief : Cyclist Is Held After 20-Mile Pursuit, Crash

A motorcyclist who led Los Angeles police on a chase that reached speeds of 110 m.p.h. and who then drove the wrong way on the Antelope Valley Freeway was finally arrested when he crashed near Vasquez Rocks, police said Wednesday.

Paul Lawrence Beulke, 20, of Panorama City was arrested about midnight Tuesday after a 20-mile pursuit. He is suspected of stealing the motorcycle, police said. He was treated for a sprained left knee at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, then held at Van Nuys Jail on $1,500 bail.

Officers began following the motorcyclist at 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, when they spotted him riding south about 70 m.p.h. on Sepulveda Boulevard in Mission Hills, a police report said. Refusing to pull over, the cyclist led police north on the San Diego, Golden State and Antelope Valley freeways, the report said.

Near Canyon Country, he made a sudden U-turn, drove the wrong way on the freeway, then took the Sierra Highway exit, police said. A Los Angeles police helicopter and a California Highway Patrol car joined the chase, which ended when the cyclist lost control near Vasquez Canyon Road, police said.

After his arrest, Beulke told officers that he bought the bike at a swap meet for $2,000 and didn’t pull over for police “because I didn’t want another ticket,” police reported.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon, Detective Harry Hollywood said.