SOMERVILLE — On Thursday, March 28, 2024, at approximately 12:45 a.m., while patrolling the Mystic River Housing Development, Somerville Police Officer Matthew McCune noticed two vehicles idling side by side at the intersection of Canal Lane and River Road, obstructing the roadway.
(The account and quotations in this article were taken from the Somerville Police Department’s weekly arrest log and do not reflect any political view of News Link Live.)
“As I approached the two vehicles, they both took a righthand turn from River Road onto Memorial Road, disregarding the stop sign located at the corner of River Road and Memorial Road,” Officer McCune said.
Officer McCune said he continued to follow the vehicles from a distance until he observed one of them fail to stop for another stop sign at the corner of Memorial Road and Temple Street.
“It was at this point where I activated my emergency blue lights and sirens in an attempt to stop the motor vehicle,” Officer McCune explained. “At this point, the vehicle was not responding to my lights or sirens, so I radioed to dispatch my location and the situation. I continued to follow the vehicle and update dispatch of my location. The motor vehicle continued to go through multiple stop signs and red lights as I was following behind it from a safe distance. I would like to note that Franklin Street is a one-way street, prohibiting access from Broadway. At this point I disengaged the motor vehicle stop due to the increased risk the motor vehicle was causing to public safety.”
At around 1 a.m., Somerville Police Officer David Ruf informed dispatch that he had located the vehicle at 10 Skehan Street, a residential address in Somerville.
Officer McCune responded to Skehan Street along with Officers Jonathan Martins and Michael Cleary.
“Upon my arrival, I observed a male in handcuffs standing outside of the vehicle,” Officer McCune said. “I approached the male and asked him if he realized the severity of what he had just done. I then asked him for his license and registration and he informed me that he did not have a license and that this was not his vehicle.”
Police identified the suspect as Mohammad Shahzaman Miahjee. Miahjee, 18, is a resident of 26 Speedwell Street in Dorchester.
Officer McCune reported that a search of Miahjee’s information in the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) database returned no results from the RMV.
“Mr. Miahjee informed me that this was his girlfriend’s father’s vehicle and that his girlfriend gave him the keys to use it,” Officer McCune said. “When I asked Miahjee why he did not stop, he said because he did not have a license.”
Officer McCune then read Miahjee his Miranda rights from a card he keeps in the pocket of his vest.
“I again asked Mr. Miahjee if he had been the person driving the vehicle tonight to which he stated ‘Yes,’” Officer McCune said. “Mr. Miahjee was then placed under arrest and I radioed for unit 200, the prisoner transport vehicle operated by Officer Kyle Lentini.”
Miahjee was frisked, his vehicle was searched, and he was then taken to the Somerville Police Department for booking.
Officer McCune and Martins conducted a follow up at 10 Skehan Street, where the registered owner of the vehicle resided.
At the house, they were met with a woman who informed the officer’s that the vehicle belonged to her husband (the couple’s names were redacted from the arrest log).
“Ms. [name redacted] invited us into her home where we waited while she got her husband, [name redacted],” Officer McCune said. “When both parties returned to the living room, I explained to them what had happened tonight and if they knew that there vehicle was being used by Mr. Miahjee. They stated that they did not know that the vehicle was being used and that they would never give him permission to use the vehicle. When asked how he would have obtained the keys to the vehicle, Ms. [name redacted] stated that her daughter must have given them to him without their permission.”
Police spoke with the daughter who said that Miahjee is currently homeless and she had given him the car keys so he would have a place to sleep for the night. (According to police records, Miahjee is a resident of 26 Speedwell Street in Dorchester. While this doesn’t necessarily indicate that he isn’t homeless, Massachusetts police records sometimes identify individuals as homeless and specify the municipality where they spend the majority of their time, e.g. “homeless in Somerville”).
Officer McCune added that the daughter said she didn’t think Miahjee was going to be out driving the vehicle.
“After speaking with both the parents and [the daughter], Mr. [name redacted] went to check his vehicle to make sure that nothing was missing,” Officer McCune said. “Mr. [name redacted] stated that everything appeared to be in order.”
“I would like to note that [the daughter’s] cellphone and the other set of car keys were placed in Mr. Miahjee’s property and later returned to Mr. [name redacted] by Officer Jonathan Martins,” Officer McCune said. “During the booking process, I was informed that Mr. Miahjee made statements of wanting to harm himself and that he has made attempts to harm himself in the past. Cataldo [Ambulance Service] was immediately notified and I filed for a Section 12. After the booking process was over, Mr. Miahjee was transported to Cambridge Hospital and accompanied by Officer Kyle Lentini.”
Miahjee was charged with the following:
- Unlicensed operation of motor vehicle
- Negligent operation of motor vehicle
- Use motor vehicle without authority
- Stop for police, fail
