Yesterday afternoon around 3:07PM, two officers were at Charlestown District Court attending court when they heard a broadcast of a car that had just been stolen and the owner had observed the suspect and provided a description.
A short time later, the same officers that had heard the broadcast of the stolen car observed the stolen car parked and unattended in the parking of 5 Austin Street. Officers broadcast this information and set up surveillance on the stolen vehicle. Around 3:55PM, officers observed a male matching the suspect description walking to the stolen car accompanied by a woman. The male suspect entered the driver’s seat while the woman got in the front passenger seat. Officers approached the car after blocking it in at which point the suspect operator immediately opened the door and attempted to flee out of the door. In so doing, the suspect stepped on the gas pedal causing his car to ram into the police car that had blocked him in. Officers then identified their office and attempted to place the suspect under arrest. The suspect violently resisted officers’ attempts to place him under arrest assaulting two officers before he was able to escape their grips and take off on foot. Officers pursued the suspect into a housing complex where they were once again engage him and place him into handcuffs but not before another violent struggle with the suspect.
The operator/suspect, Christopher McGrath, 26, of Everett was arrested and charged with Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle in the Daytime, Larceny of a Motor Vehicle, Resisting Arrest, two counts of Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, and Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended License. It should be noted that the victim positively identified the suspect as the person that he observed steal his car.