Motorcyclist accused of going 161 mph and popping wheelie in front of troopers, pleads guilty

FARMINGTON — A 19-year-old Layton man arrested for allegedly fleeing from police at over 160 mph and also doing a wheelie in front of the pursuing trooper has pleaded guilty in two cases.

Spencer Riley Clawson, who investigators say has a history of reckless driving in multiple cities, pleaded guilty this week in 2nd District Court in one case to failing to stop for police, a third-degree felony, and reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor, and to the same charges in a second case. In exchange, a total of ten other misdemeanor charges and infractions — including one count of traveling 161 mph in a 70-mph zone — were dismissed.

Clawson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 20.

According to charging documents, on April 18 at about 1:30 p.m., a police officer spotted a motorcycle rider on I-15 near Parrish Lane who "appeared to be traveling in excess of 100 mph and was veering between vehicles without signaling and in a highly unsafe manner."

Upon seeing the officer, Clawson slowed down and pulled up alongside him. But when the officer turned on his emergency lights and motioned to Clawson to pull over, "Clawson then fled at high speeds estimated at over 120 mph. Clawson again drove with wanton and reckless disregard for the safety and welfare of others. He changed lanes without signaling, rode too closely behind vehicles, and cut too closely in front of other vehicles."

The officer terminated his chase due to public safety concerns.

Then on April 29, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper spotted the same motorcyclist in the same area of I-15 traveling "well over 100 mph," according to charging documents.

"The motorcyclist then pulled up alongside the trooper and began waving at the trooper in an apparent attempt to goad him. (The trooper) activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop. The motorcyclist, later identified as Clawson, failed to yield, instead popped a wheelie, accelerated quickly and reached speeds well beyond 100 mph in a 70-mph zone — later found to be above 160 mph," the charges state.

That trooper also terminated his pursuit for safety reasons.

Following the two incidents, and "through weeks of investigation ... (police) discovered social media posts on Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok which appeared to be the helmet camera view from the male who had fled from (police)," charging documents state.

"Clawson had posted multiple incidents of him driving a motorcycle on freeways at extreme rates of speed — some of them at speeds over 190 mph. Signs of roadways and the surrounding mountains within the videos made it clear that they were produced here in several areas along the Wasatch Front," police further stated.

In one video, "Clawson is seen traveling at up to 161 mph, illegally lane filtering, lane splitting between vehicles on the highway, and recklessly endangering others. Within the comments section of some of Clawson's online posts of him fleeing from police officers, Clawson makes statements showing that his intent was to flee from police," according to the charges.

Investigators also learned that Clawson's motorcycle was uninsured, not registered and Clawson did not have a motorcycle endorsement on his driver's license.

On May 6, officers from several agencies converged on Clawson's residence in Layton and arrested him.

Prosecutors say Clawson "has had similar incidents involving UHP, Ogden police, Salt Lake City police, and other Woods Cross police" and that the investigation "into additional felony criminal activity" is pending.

A police booking affidavit further notes that Clawson "posts reckless videos almost daily" and that "he has fled from multiple agencies and has posted multiple videos of himself driving recklessly and fleeing for likes and clicks. I have no doubt that if the subject is released, he will continue with the same poor behavior and possibly hurt himself or others."

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