SALEM, Mass. -- "Ma, I (expletive) up. I am going to jail," Derek Savage told his mother after police found him hiding on her back porch Friday, following a drunken rampage at a Salem fast-food restaurant and a high-speed chase, police said.
But Savage isn't in jail, after a bail clerk agreed to release him on $500 cash bail over the weekend, an amount prosecutors did not seek to increase yesterday after Savage showed up in Salem District Court to be arraigned on a string of charges.
Savage, 21, of 24 Pleasant St., Peabody, pleaded not guilty to charges of malicious destruction of property, assault with a dangerous weapon, second-offense drunken driving, speeding, failing to stop for police, failing to stop for a stop sign and driving to endanger.
Police were called by employees at Taco Bell on Highland Avenue in Salem late Friday night, after Savage allegedly yelled at the counter help, placed "wet floor" signs on the counter and told workers he defecated on the floor, according to a police report. They asked him to leave.
He left but returned a few minutes later via the drive-through window and tossed a shot glass at the clerk, nearly hitting her, police said. Then, he pulled into the parking lot of an adjacent Burger King, opened his trunk, and hurled a lacrosse helmet at the Taco Bell window, smashing it.
Police first spotted him pulling out of a parking lot on Marlborough Road.
Officers pursued him toward Traders Way shopping plaza, then back onto Highland Avenue and down Marlborough Road, reaching speeds of more than 60 miles an hour. As the road continued into Peabody, officers from that community joined the pursuit, which continued through Peabody, back into Salem and then back into Peabody.
Officers lost sight of Savage on Pierpont Street,
A passerby pointed toward Pleasant Street, where police saw the green Nissan Altima Savage was allegedly driving. Two Salem police dogs, Turbo and Kreuger, were used to search for Savage, who was found hiding on a back porch, police said.
Police described Savage as intoxicated; he failed field sobriety tests and later registered a .12 on a Breathalyzer test, 11/2 times the legal limit.
Judge Michael Lauranzano ordered Savage, whose license was seized, not to drive while the case is pending.
A pretrial hearing is set for May 6.
Copyright 2014 - The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
