Rockdale Citizen

CONYERS -- A man who tried to intervene in a fight between a man and woman got his motorcycle run over for his efforts, but the man involved in the fight wound up facing DUI and other charges.

A 52-year-old Conyers man told the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office that he saw the suspect, Thomas Dewitt Scarborough, 41, and a woman involved in a heated argument inside The Outpost bar at 3571 Ga. Highway 20 on June 12 at about 3:20 a.m. The victim said he tried to intervene and the suspect threw a beer in his face. The two then went outside, according to the incident report, where the suspect hit the victim in the face a couple of times. The victim said he told Scarborough he wouldn't fight him and went back inside the bar.

Meanwhile, another witness said that after the victim went inside he saw Scarborough get in his mini van and back over the victim's Harley Davidson motorcycle before driving away. The van's bumper was lying on the ground next to the motorcycle when a deputy arrived at the bar. The mini van also reportedly backed into an exterior wall of the bar, causing damage to wood panel.

A deputy who was dispatched to the vicinity of Scarborough's residence at 771 Robin Road saw the suspect's van at about 5:30 a.m. driving on Robin Drive in the middle of the roadway. The van made a left turn onto Sunset Drive with the deputy following, lights and siren activated. The van continued in the middle of the road at a high rate of speed, according to the report, and the driver turned off the headlights. The van attempted a left turn onto Ralph Road without stopping at the stop sign, ran off the road and into a yard and headed west on Ralph Road, weaving in and out of its lane.

When the van attempted to make a left turn onto Stanton Road without stopping at the stop sign, it crossed Stanton and struck a utility pole.

The driver, Scarborough, was taken into custody and placed in two pairs of handcuffs due to his size. When asked by the deputy if he'd been drinking, Scarborough reportedly said he'd had five beers. Scarborough reportedly was upset that he had been handcuffed with his hands behind his back, saying that he had been handcuffed in the front on previous arrests.

An inventory of the van revealed a crack pipe with residue inside a black backpack. When Scarborough was searched at the jail, a small clear plastic bag containing suspected crystal methamphetamine was found in the left front pocket of his pants, according to the report.

Scarborough was charged with crossing guardlines with drugs without consent, DUI-alcohol, driving without headlights at night, failure to maintain lane, fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, possession and use of drug-related objects, possession of methamphetamine, reckless driving, and stop sign/yield sign violation.