Police: Man flees officers after ditching out on $16 tab

35-year-old Marlon Cortez Stanfield was pulled over by Ferndale police after the Buffalo Wild Wings at Nine Mile and Allen called in a dine and dash.  We're told officers were prepared to give him a pass on that $16 meal declined by his debit card.

"The officers were just trying to tell him to go make it right understanding mistakes like that can happen.  They didn't want to make an arrest.  He would've had nothing to worry about had he just agreed to go pay his bill," said Lieutenant William Wilson.

However, Stanfield had a different idea.

"Finally, Mr. Stanfield just yelled an obscenity at them, decided he wasn't going to stick around, wasn't apparently going to pay his bill, and he sped off cutting into the officers and making them jump out of the way," Wilson said.

Police chased the car down Livernois, but called off their pursuit because it got too dangerous on residential streets.  Instead, officers went to Stanfield's house clearly listed on the driver's license he had given during the stop.

"He's just stupid," said Wilson.  "It would've been a 90 day misdemeanor tops.  Now he's facing five years in prison after endangering his life, the officers' lives and several citizens along the route of the chase."

In court, Stanfield denied having a criminal past, blaming one of his many brothers, and despite the magistrates' continuous, gentle reminders of Stanfield's Miranda rights, he still offered the court an explanation.

"The bartender there, he wanted to fight me because I said I don't want the hot buffalo wings.  I wanted a different kind," Stanfield told the judge.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Buffalo Wild Wings issued the following statement.

"Our concern, first and foremost, is with the safety of our employees, customers and members of the community. This is a police matter and we will continue to work closely with authorities to gather all of the facts surrounding this incident."