Man accused of stealing cruiser, Detective sustains injuries

The Boston Globe
Associated Press - 12/26/2002

JEFFERSON, MAINE - A 45-year-old man was arrested yesterday 
for allegedly stealing a Lincoln County Sheriff's Department
vehicle and dragging a detective behind it as he attempted
to escape.

State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland said Michael
Montagne of Jefferson is accused of stealing a Ford Explorer
from Detective Sergeant Jason Pease following a scuffle in
Jefferson.

McCausland said Pease sustained leg and back injuries, which
he said were not life-threatening. Montagne was arrested by
State Police shortly before 9 p.m. and taken to the Lincoln
County Jail.

McCausland said Montagne had called the Sheriff's Department
twice during the day from separate homes, saying he had been
drugged. Pease, who lives in the area, was sent to investigate
and came across Montagne on Route 126.

"Montagne managed to get inside the cruiser and drive off with
it, dragging Detective Pease for some time," McCauseland said.
"The deputy did fire at least one shot during these events."

The spokesman said Montagne later called police on his cellphone
and was talking to a state police negotiator when Trooper Christopher
Tupper came upon the vehicle and arrested Montagne at gunpoint.

The incident was the second in three days in which a law enforcement
vehicle was stolen.

On Monday, a prisoner overpowered a Waldo County sheriff's deputy,
took his handgun and stole his vehicle. The prisoner, Rodney 
Williams, 27, was shot in the abdomen after he crashed the cruiser
in Ellsworth and fired at pursuing officers.

Williams was being driven from a court appearance in Belfast to the
Maine Correctional Center in Windham, where he was serving time for
burglary and trafficking in cocaine, officials said.



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