Motorcycle Rider Who Filmed Police Chase Gets Four Years

A Plainfield man found guilty of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer during a chase he filmed and posted to YouTube was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday, and could get even more time for similar charges in Will County.

Hamza Ali Ben Ali, 31, led Westmont police on a high-speed chase in October 2012 while filming the pursuit with a video camera mounted on the back of his Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle.

Prosecutors said Ali, who was also convicted of driving on a suspended license, led officers on a dangerous chase from Wesmont to Darien, reaching speeds of 115 mph, according to the Daily Herald.

Ali is accused of attempting a similar stunt a month later in Plainfield. According to the Daily Herald, Plainfield Officer Martin Van Heejswik testified that Ali was riding the same motorcycle when he approached the officer's vehicle at an intersection, leaned in the window, said, "Bye bye," and fled.

Ali was out on bond in a Cook County aggravated assault case during the two incidents, and was wearing a GPS tracking device. Prosecutors said the device, which updates every three minutes, matched video evidence posted to Ali's YouTube channel and police dashboard camera, the Daily Herald reported.

A seven-minute video of the Westmont chase, titled "Da OutLaw 6's playing with police while being chased," was posted to YouTube.

Ali, an Algerian citizen, also faces deportation as part of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement case.