Wednesday, April 5, 2000

Resident has 2nd brush with law in Arlington chase

By DAN SHOHL - STAFF WRITER

For the second time in as many months, Arlington police on March 29 arrested Timothy Lewis after a motorized chase through town.

The 22-year-old Lewis, a Chelmsford resident, was reportedly trying to break into a pickup truck on Hamilton Road with another man, 24-year-old Christopher Dube of Somerville. A resident spotted them around 8 p.m. and called the police. Arlington officers Brandon Kindle and Robert Gamez responded.

Kindle first reported seeing the duo on a motorcycle, Dube driving, entering the Minuteman bikeway from Lindwood Street and heading west. He and Gamez gave chase down the path with their lights and sirens turned on.

"The suspects took the bike path to Swan Street, forcing a couple of citizens walking on the bike path into the bushes," wrote Kindle in his report. The decision to follow the two men onto the bike path was endorsed by the officers' patrol supervisor, Sgt. James White, and approved of by the police director, Fred Ryan.

Ryan said Gamez and Kindle reined in their cruisers while driving on the path and called in additional officers to head off the motorcycle. "Based on our review of the incident, they took necessary and appropriate precautionary measures to minimize the risk of injury to bystanders," said Ryan.

The cycle soon turned from the bike path onto Swan Place, and then to Massachusetts Avenue heading east. They drove through a red light to turn north on Medford, taking a right on Hamlet Street before ending up on Franklin Street, where they started driving on the sidewalk.

"At this time, I was able to pull ahead of the suspects," wrote Kindle. "The suspects attempted to re-enter onto the street and cut off Officer Gamez. It was during this move that [Dube] lost control jumping over the curb, causing [them] to dump the motorcycle in the street."

Dube and Lewis were then arrested. Lewis would later be treated at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, reportedly for a broken wrist he suffered in the cycle spill.

Dube was charged with breaking and entering a vehicle at night, possessing burglarious tools, driving an unregistered vehicle, driving with a revoked license, failing to stop for police, driving an uninsured vehicle and reckless driving. Lewis was charged with breaking and entering a vehicle at night and possessing burglarious tools. Both are felonies. Lewis had been connected to a similar incident less than two months ago.

In February, Arlington police arrested Lewis and Waltham resident Mario Martorilli, 25, after the two allegedly went on an early morning rampage through East Arlington, using a Ford Bronco as a ram to smash parked cars and knock over a vending machine at a Massachusetts Avenue service station.

The two reportedly led several police cruisers on a chase that ended at Friendly's Ice Cream on Broadway, where the Bronco rolled over and came to a stop. Police charged Lewis with a single count of breaking and entering and three counts of malicious destruction for that incident.

"Clearly there is a pattern of criminal behavior that we're concerned about," said Ryan about Lewis. "We'll be working closely with the court officials to try to remedy the situation."

Lewis will have a pre-trial conference on the charges on Tuesday at Cambridge District Court.

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