Two Marin doctors have been charged with riding their bicycles illegally on Marin County open space land where bikes are prohibited and resisting arrest when a Marin County sheriff’s deputy attempted to issue them a citation.

The two bike riders are Dr. Paul Cameron, a Corte Madera dentist, and Dr. David Carbonell, an emergency room physician and co-founder of New Paradigm Trail group.

In a posting on its Facebook page, the New Paradigm Trail Group has declared the county’s roads and trails management plan — which seeks to balance the needs of hikers, bikers and equestrians — a failure and demanded more access for bikes.

The incident occurred on Dec. 12 on the Piedmont Trail in the Baltimore Canyon Open Space Preserve, located southwest of Kentfield.

“They were seen by one of the open space deputies riding on a trail they were restricted from riding bikes on,” said sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Edwards. “The deputy attempted to stop them and they rode away from him.”

Edwards said the deputy was able to catch up to Cameron.

“He grabbed his arm, which stopped him,” Edwards said.

The other rider, who was later identified as Carbonell, escaped. Two Marin County sheriff’s deputies assisted open space rangers with enforcement.

Sheriff’s Lt. Nina Snyder said the arrest report indicated that Cameron has a history of riding his bike illegally in areas that are off limits to bicycles.

On Tuesday, Cameron pleaded not guilty to both charges. He declined to comment.

Carbonell’s arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 24. Carbonell did not respond to emails requesting comment.

At a Board of Supervisors meeting in February 2017, Carbonell, speaking as co-founder of New Paradigm Trail Group, said, “I don’t want to be 65 years old before I see my vision for trail access sharing in Marin County implemented.”

Marin County Park and Open Space Superintendent Ari Golan said the fine for riding illegally on open space land is $45 for a first offense. Golan said additional court costs, however, increase the total cost to $199. The fine for a second offense is $100, which amounts to a total cost of $410. All violations after that carry a fine of $150, which actually adds up to $615, Golan said.

The charge of resisting arrest carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and imprisonment in a county jail for up to a year.

Linda Novy of Fairfax, a Marin Conservation League board member, said, “These guys were breaking the law and then they tried to evade it. I think it is really shameful.

“This is really proof that enforcement is very necessary,” Novy said. “There are some people, and these are examples of those people, who just don’t think the rules apply to them. We may never get them to comply unless they’re arrested.”

Tom Boss, off-road director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, declined to comment on the incident.

Boss wrote in an email, “MCBC advocates for improved mountain bike access by creating safe, fun and inclusive trail environments for all. We do this through collaboration, not confrontation.”

New Paradigm has advocated that bicyclists be as “disruptive as possible, acting within the guidelines of the law,” as a means of getting what they want.

Carbonell has served as one of the coaches for the Redwood High School mountain bike racing team.

Golan said the number of citations issued to bicyclists for riding illegally on open space land decreased from 43 in 2015 to 27 in 2017. Golan added, however, that citations are not always issued to bicyclists when they are spotted riding in off limit areas.

He said, “It’s left up to the officer’s judgment.”