Mike Goitom, who owns the Crown Gas Station on West Patapsco Avenue near Potee Street in Baltimore, says the court case over his $250 citation for allegedly fueling illegal dirt bikes has been dismissed. Goitom had argued from the start that his employee did everything possible to keep the riders from getting gas, and that the citation was unwarranted.
The trouble began on June 28, when a large group of dirt bike riders pulled up to the Crown Gas Station pumps, with some trying to pay at the pump and others heading toward the store to pay inside, according to Fox Baltimore. Goitom said his employee locked the station doors to shut down the inside transactions and managed to shut off one pump, but could not kill all of them because other customers were fueling up at the same time. He described the employee as very nervous during the encounter.
Owner Calls the Citation Unwarranted
Despite those efforts, Baltimore police issued the citation to Crown Gas Station as part of a broader push that saw two civil citations handed to gas stations accused of fueling illegal dirt bikes, per the same Fox Baltimore report. Goitom called the $250 citation unwarranted, saying his employee did everything possible to prevent the riders from getting fuel. He also released a statement.
Per WBFF, Goitom now says the court case against him has been dismissed. The station owner's account is the source of that claim; no court name, case number, or hearing date has been detailed publicly.
A Citywide Crackdown on Illegal Riding
The citation against Goitom came amid a wider enforcement push. Baltimore police have said they are cracking down on illegal dirt bike activity as warmer weather brought a surge in riders, and that the department remains focused on public safety and on eliminating the resources that let the activity continue in the city. As part of that same sweep, police seized at least 10 dirt bikes, the station's report notes.
A statute cited in local reporting allows police to issue citations to gas stations connected to illegal dirt bike fueling, with reports describing a range from $250 to $1,000 depending on the circumstances. Separately, a provision in the Baltimore City Code states that a retail service station dealer convicted under a related subtitle is subject to a fine of not more than $25 — a figure that does not match the $250 to $1,000 range described in news coverage, and the dossier does not resolve which provision applied in Goitom's case.
Enforcement Has Spread Across the City
Crown Gas Station is not the only business caught up in the crackdown. CBS News Baltimore reported that police once responded to more than 200 dirt bikers displaying dangerous riding behavior on a Sunday evening, and that a separate gas station near West Cold Spring Lane said it had been instructed to turn off its fuel lines whenever employees hear or see dirt bikes approaching. That same report noted three off-road vehicles seized in Baltimore's Cameron Village and 11 dirt bikes seized during another enforcement event in recent months.
For now, Goitom's case stands as an example of the pressure gas station owners say they are under to police customers they cannot always control, even as the city pushes forward with its effort to curb illegal dirt bike riding on Baltimore streets.
