Medford Police: Theft Suspect Drove at Cop, Led Chase on I-93

A Somerville man drove at a police officer in a stolen car and led police on a brief chase on Route 16 and I-93 Wednesday afternoon, according to Medford Police.

Michael Barnett, 31, faces 10 charges after he crashed a stolen 1992 Oldmobile station wagon into the center divider on I-93 North about 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to court documents. Barnett allegedly sideswiped two vehicles on the interstate before crashing, police said.

Barnett was arraigned in Somerville District Court Thursday morning, where he was released on personal recognizance and scheduled to return for a hearing in April.

Police confronted Barnett in the parking lot behind St. Joseph Church on Route 16 after discovering the car he was driving was reported stolen, but Barnett hopped the curb and headed east on Route 16 toward I-93, a police report said. Before reaching the interstate, Barnett slammed the breaks of the car and a female passenger jumped out at the intersection with Main St., the report said.

Medford police Sgt. James Grubb had followed Barnett since spotting the station wagon on Winthrop St. because it matched the description of a vehicle involved in a theft from a car on Tyler Avenue earlier in the afternoon, the report said.

When the vehicle pulled into the parking lot on Route 16, Grubb called in the license plate number to police headquarters and found out the car was reported stolen from Malden on March 27, the report said.

Officer Stephen LeBert responded to the parking lot in an unmarked cruiser to assist Grubb and blocked the exit to Route 16, the report said.

When LeBert stepped out of his cruiser and identified himself as a police officer, Barnett drove at him, LeBert wrote in a report.

"I had stepped around my unmarked unit and was standing in front of my cruiser, Mr. Barnett then put his (motor vehicle) into drive and began to drive at me," LeBert wrote, "at which point I drew my service weapon and ordered Mr. Barnett to stop."

But Barnett instead drove at LeBert, then swerved to hop the curb onto Route 16, the report said.

With police following him, Barnett pulled off Route 16 at the off ramp to Main Street, where he slammed on the breaks a a female passenger jumped out of the car, then crossed Main Street, got back onto Route 16, and eventually got onto I-93 North, the report said.

"Barnett began to swerve in and out of traffic going from the far left lan into the breakdown lane to the right," the report said.

Barnett crashed into the center divider near the Roosevelt Circle exit, where he was arrested, the report said.

The woman who jumped out of the car told police she witnessed Barnett smash the windshield of a car on Tyler Avenue with a pair of pliers and steal the GPS inside, the report said.

A pair of pliers and a GPS were recovered in the stolen station wagon, the report said.