Burlington man arrested after motorcycle chase ends in fence crash

A Burlington motorcycle rider hit 64 miles per hour in a posted 35-mile-per-hour zone on Rauhut Street, then led Alamance County deputies through a short chase that ended with a fence crash and an arrest on foot. Deputies said the sequence put nearby streets and intersections at risk before the rider was taken into custody.

Deputies clocked the motorcycle shortly after 12:55 a.m. on Friday, June 12, and activated emergency lights and a siren near Rauhut Street and Sharpe Road. According to the report, the rider initially slowed as if to stop, then accelerated again and kept going. Officers said the motorcycle ran a stop sign on Sharpe Road at Lakeside Avenue and later crashed into a fence in the 1500 block of Sharpe Road.

The rider, identified as Wilbert Lee Richmond Jr., 50, of Burlington, fled a short distance on foot before deputies caught him. EMS took Richmond to a local hospital for treatment after the collision, and he was treated and released before being taken to the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center.

Richmond faces charges that include felony flee to elude arrest, failure to heed lights and siren, driving while impaired, no operator’s license, no motorcycle endorsement, speeding, resist/delay/obstruct a public officer, reckless driving with wanton disregard, driving left of center, failure to reduce speed, failure to stop at a stop sign and damage to property. Under North Carolina law, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer is a criminal offense, and the charge can become a felony when aggravating factors are present. The allegations in this case include speeding, reckless driving and crash-related property damage, all of which increase the seriousness of a pursuit case.

North Carolina also requires motorcycle operators to have a motorcycle endorsement on their driver’s license. The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office says it serves more than 170,000 residents across 435 square miles, and Sheriff Terry S. Johnson has led the agency since 2002. The office also tracks traffic stops through state reporting requirements, part of the broader accountability record around enforcement on local roads.

The case adds to recent fast-moving street incidents in Burlington that have drawn a law-enforcement response, including a May 2026 arrest after a foot chase that ended with recovered firearms. For deputies, the June 12 chase underscored how quickly a traffic stop can turn into a public-safety hazard when a driver appears ready to stop, then speeds away through city streets.