PORTAGE — A Randolph man’s habit of running from authorities could result in a prison sentence of more than 70 years.
Phillip J. Sanders, 24, was ordered held on $2,000 cash bail after an initial appearance Wednesday in Columbia County Circuit Court.
Sanders is charged with two counts of felony eluding an officer as a vehicle operator, eight counts of felony bail jumping and two counts of misdemeanor operating while revoked. The felony charges carry a maximum possible initial prison sentence of 27 years; Sanders, charged as a repeater, faces up to 44 additional years on a possible prison sentence.
The charges stem from two separate incidents in which Sanders led authorities on high-speed chases while he was driving a motorcycle, according to court records.
Sanders on Aug. 1 accelerated from a sergeant with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office after the sergeant attempted a traffic stop at 10:38 p.m. on Chestnut Street in Pardeeville, according to a criminal complaint.
Sanders led authorities on a chase east out of Pardeeville, north on Highway 44 into Green Lake County while reaching speeds of 100 mph, the complaint stated.
Sanders continued to lead the sergeant and deputies from Green Lake County on the chase for more than 20 miles, travelling on Highways X, HH and GG into the town of Manchester on Salemville Road and Winding Lane, continuing with speeds around 80 mph, according to the complaint.
Sanders eluded authorities after entering a wooded area near Winding Lane, the complaint stated.
Inquiries by authorities into the trade and sale of the motorcycle on www.craigslist.com and a Neshkoro business allowed them to confirm Sanders on Aug. 3 as the driver and owner of the motorcycle, the complaint stated.
Sanders again eluded authorities after a deputy attempted to stop Sanders, again on a motorcycle, shortly before 1 a.m. Friday on Highway 44 in the town of Wyocena for speeding, according to a criminal complaint.
Sanders led a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputy along Highway 33 and Bird Road into Dodge County, reaching speeds of 98 mph, the complaint stated.
Dodge County deputies chased Sanders along Highway A in Dodge County, at speeds between 85 and 95 mph, until the motorcycle appeared to run out of gas, the complaint stated.
The complaint said Sanders left the motorcycle in a ditch as he ran through a field where he eluded authorities.
Detectives with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office later contacted Sanders, who according to the complaint admitted he was as the driver of the motorcycle.
Sanders faces more than 36 years on a possible initial prison sentence on four felony cases from 2007 and 2008 in Columbia County on charges that include unlawful telephone use, misdemeanor and felony bail jumping, resisting or obstructing an officer, false imprisonment, battery, and disorderly conduct.
Sanders was convicted in 2007 of felony eluding an officer as a vehicle operator.
Sanders is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 15 on the new charges.
sgreen@capitalnewspapers.com