Student's Car Found Bullet-Ridden

It was a scene reminiscent of Dodge City last Friday, but it played out right here on Main Street in Cambridge.

A man driving a stolen car belonging to a Harvard undergraduate led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash, with police firing shots into the stopped vehicle.

The owner of the stolen 1995 black BMW 325-IS, who asked not to be named in an interview yesterday, said that she had been parking her car in the same area since mid-summer and had never experienced any problems.

The BMW was stolen off Western Avenue in the Allston suburb of Boston early Friday, said Peggy A. McNamara, a spokesperson for the Harvard University Police Department.

The Cambridge Police sergeant in charge of the investigation, Patrick G. Nagle, said the student's car was one of three stolen from East Cambridge on Friday morning.

The student said she didn't have to return to her car until later in the day and was unaware that it had been stolen until she was notified by the police.

Later that morning, a Cambridge Police officer noticed the car "driving erratically," Nagle said.

According to Nagle, the officer tried to pull the car over for a routine inspection, but the driver, who police identified as 24-year-old Jose Montanez of Chelsea, took off.

A Cambridge Police lieutenant pulled his car in front of the stolen car when the chase came to his location, along Sixth Street at Binney Street, officials said.

According to Nagle, Montanez rammed the vehicle into the officer's car seriously injuring the officer, and continued into the Kendall Square construction zone at Vasser and Main streets near MIT.

Another officer on foot tried to stop the car. Montanez tried to ram into him as well, said Nagle.

The officer then "let go of a round" of bullets, Nagle said. While the bullets did not strike the suspect, Nagle said, they caused him to stop the car. Montanez was then taken into custody.

The student said the damage to her car was extensive. "There were three bullet holes and front and rear damage," she said.

The student said police brought her car to an auto-body shop yesterday. The student said her insurance will most likely pay for the damage.

McNamara said they were notified of the car's condition by Cambridge Police.

Harvard police officers found the student and escorted her to the Cambridge Police station to identify her car.

The student then field a stolen vehicle report with Boston Police, McNamara said.

Montanez was charged with assault with intent to murder and receiving stolen property.

According to Nagle, Montanez was arraigned yesterday in Middlesex County District Court. But the court had no record of his arraignment last night.

Nagle said Montanez is not yet charged in any of the three car thefts from Friday morning.

The student says she has no plans as of yet to take any legal action against Montanez.

The injured officer was treated and released from a Boston hospital. Nagle refused to release the name of the officer.

"He looked really tough at the scene...I'm shocked he got out of the hospital [so quickly]," Nagle said.

Although incidents of car theft are not too common on the Harvard campus itself and in fact "have decreased significantly," according to McNamara, leaving a vehicle outsides the confines of Harvard can have its risks.

"When you park your car on a city street, you're not afforded the safety and securiof the University Police," McNamara said. "You leave yourself open to victimization if you want to leave your car unattended."

The student said that in a few weeks, she will no longer have to park her car outside Harvard. She said her application for a parking lot near the Business School should be processed by the middle of October

The student said the damage to her car was extensive. "There were three bullet holes and front and rear damage," she said.

The student said police brought her car to an auto-body shop yesterday. The student said her insurance will most likely pay for the damage.

McNamara said they were notified of the car's condition by Cambridge Police.

Harvard police officers found the student and escorted her to the Cambridge Police station to identify her car.

The student then field a stolen vehicle report with Boston Police, McNamara said.

Montanez was charged with assault with intent to murder and receiving stolen property.

According to Nagle, Montanez was arraigned yesterday in Middlesex County District Court. But the court had no record of his arraignment last night.

Nagle said Montanez is not yet charged in any of the three car thefts from Friday morning.

The student says she has no plans as of yet to take any legal action against Montanez.

The injured officer was treated and released from a Boston hospital. Nagle refused to release the name of the officer.

"He looked really tough at the scene...I'm shocked he got out of the hospital [so quickly]," Nagle said.

Although incidents of car theft are not too common on the Harvard campus itself and in fact "have decreased significantly," according to McNamara, leaving a vehicle outsides the confines of Harvard can have its risks.

"When you park your car on a city street, you're not afforded the safety and securiof the University Police," McNamara said. "You leave yourself open to victimization if you want to leave your car unattended."

The student said that in a few weeks, she will no longer have to park her car outside Harvard. She said her application for a parking lot near the Business School should be processed by the middle of October