Milan teenager accused of fleeing from Saline police faces several charges

By Art Aisner AnnArbor.com Freelance Journalist

Posted on Mon, Apr 26, 2010 : 2 p.m.

A Milan teenager accused of evadingÂ Saline police officers after leading them on brief car and foot chases last month has been charged with multiple felonies.

Franklyn Rutkowski, 18, was arraigned on counts of fleeing and eluding police and resisting and obstructing officers who were trying to pull him over on March 7, court records show. He was released on a personal bond.

Rutkowski was arrested late last month after investigators said they were able to identify him as the driver of a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix that was speeding on Macon Road at about 1:45 a.m., police reports said.

An officer also noticed a taillight was out on the vehicle and attempted to stop the driver. But the driver sped away and then abruptly turned into a driveway in the 9000 block of Macon Road. He ditched the vehicle and ran through a wooded area behind a home, reports said.

Officers followed but couldn’t locate him. A Washtenaw County Sheriff’s K-9 unit tracked the driver to a different street in the area. Along the way, police found two Timberland boots that they collected as evidence, reports said.

Investigators later determined the boots belonged to Rutkowski, who was driving a vehicle registered to his mother. Officers found his homework in the vehicle, reports said. They also learned he visited a friend near where the K-9 track led and asked that friend for help, including footwear, police reports said.

Rutkowski, a forward on the Saline Hornets Hockey Club, could face up to five and two years in prison if convicted of the respective charges.