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Jefferson County sheriffs deputies have added 18 vehicle and traffic charges to the 13 counts a Watertown man already faces from Watertown police after allegedly leading officers on a high-speed pursuit early Thursday.
Ryan D. Monroe, 30, of 1005 Bronson St., was charged Wednesday with third-degree unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, reckless driving and numerous other traffic-related offenses after allegedly leading deputies on a pursuit in which his motorcycle reached speeds of 140 mph on Route 342 in the town of LeRay.
Watertown police tried to stop Mr. Monroes vehicle just before 3 a.m. Thursday in the 900 block of Bronson Street, but he allegedly sped away. A sheriffs patrol joined city police in following the bike, registered to Gregory A. Eddy, 27, Carthage, as it traveled west at a high rate of speed on Route 342, according to the Sheriffs Department.
Four minutes after the chase began, the biker went off the right side of the road as he approached Nellis Road and went into a field, where he struck an embankment and went down with the bike, a deputy reported.
Mr. Monroe, who was semiconscious at the accident scene, was taken to Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, for treatment of multiple unspecified injuries. He was arraigned Wednesday in LeRay Town Court by Justice John W. Hallett on both town of LeRay and town of Pamelia charges and was ordered held on $1,000 bail in each town, or $2,000 total.