Ephrata duo charged after chasing down biker, stealing backpack in West Earl Township

Kyle Carter, left, 29, and Derek Lawson, 22, were both charged after police say they chased another man and tried to force him to crash his motorcycle before stealing the man's backpack.

Two Ephrata men were charged after they made another man crash his motorcycle and then stole his backpack, according to West Earl Township police.  

Derek C. Lawson, 22, and Kyle P. Carter, 29, were charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person for the incident that happened around 9:35 p.m. on July 9 at the intersection of Peach Road and Crooked Lane, police said.  

Officers were dispatched after police were called for a reckless driving complaint, police said. Shortly after the initial call, a motorcycle crash was reported.  

A witness told officers that Lawson, Carter and another man were all on motorcycles at the time of the incident. Lawson and Carter chased the man while trying to pull down the man’s handlebars and kick at him while driving, police said.  

The chase began in Ephrata, according to police.  

Carter and Lawson were able to get the man to stop and forced him off his motorcycle, punched and kicked him and then stole a backpack and left the scene, police said.  

The man was evaluated at the scene and then taken to Ephrata hospital for further evaluation, police said.  

Carter and Lawson were arrested two days later in Ephrata on warrants and taken to Lancaster County Prison. Both have bail set at $75,000 and were unable to pay it.  

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Source: Lancaster Online by