Underage DUI Suspect Takes Officers on Chase Through Bowie

Two drivers in Bowie were arrested for driving under the influence within less than 24 hours of each other in separate incidents the weekend following the Fourth of July, according to police. One of the drivers led police on chase through Bowie.

The first incident occurred on July 9 around 2 a.m. when officers were conducting speed radar on Annapolis Road. A car sped by, prompting officers to attempt to make a traffic stop, but the suspects took police on a short chase before the driver and two passengers bailed out of the car and fled the area on foot after making it to Maycheck Lane, according to Chief of Police, John Nesky.

A neighbor had seen the car outside as police arrived, though all three suspects had already abandoned the vehicle and said officers urged neighbors to stay in their homes and lock the doors as they searched for the three suspects.

Officers found a man matching the description of the driver walking on the sidewalk in the 6900 block of Laurel Bowie Road. The man—identified as 20-year-old Michael R. Wynn of Frederick—had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, but police said he refused both the field sobriety test as well as a breathalyzer.

Wynn was taken to the Upper Marlboro Department of Corrections for processing after being arrested and issued 25 citations, according to police. His charges include driving while under the influence of alcohol, attempting to elude police, reckless and negligent driving and several speeding and other traffic violations. The other two passengers were not identified or apprehended, according reports from police.

The night of July 9, Bowie’s Traffic Safety Unit stopped a car headed south on Crain Highway near its intersection with Route 50. During the stop, which occurred around 11:40 p.m., the officer noticed the driver smelled like he had been drinking.

The driver, Steven Douglas King, 47, of Edgewater took the field sobriety test, which police said showed he was under the influence. At 12:58 a.m., police reported that he was tested to have an alcohol concentration of .11 percent. The driver was charged with a speeding citation, reckless driving and driving under the infulence then released into the custody of a sober adult, according to police.