High-speed moped chase leaves Gopher LB facing felonies

In a scene that sounds like it’s straight out of Smokey and the Bandit -- if, ya know, the Bandit was using a moped to run beer -- Minnesota linebacker Gary Tinsley was arrested on a number of offenses early Sunday morning, the Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting.

And two of those charges are felonies. Involving a moped.

According to the Star Tribune, Tinsley is facing charges of fleeing police on a motor vehicle and fleeing police on foot, both of which are felonies. He’s also facing misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.

Here’s the paper’s account of the early morning “events” that led to Tinsley’s arrest. And it involves a “high-speed chase” featuring a pair of mopeds.

According to Minneapolis police spokesman Jesse Garcia, a Minneapolis police lieutenant was working a “party’’ detail near the Minnesota campus when he noticed two people on mopeds driving the wrong way down a one-way street just after 1 a.m. The lieutenant got out of the car and tried to stop them, but the drivers fled on the mopeds, one nearly hitting the open door of the squad car.

According to the police report, the drivers drove through yards and on sidewalks. One rider dumped his moped in the 1100 block of 4th Street and fled on foot but was captured by University of Minnesota Police and identified as Tinsley. He was still in custody at Hennepin County jail as of Monday night. The other moped driver was not caught.

Again, dude’s facing two felonies for actions taken while driving a freaking moped. The only way this story could possibly get any better would be if Tinsley were car-surfing atop of the police car while sitting on his moped.

“Obviously we’re disappointed,” athletic director Joel Maturi. “Frustrated is probably a good word. But, until I know all the facts, I’m not ready to make more of a comment.”

It’s unknown whether Maturi’s disappointment stems solely from the arrest or that the arrest involved a freaking moped.