3rd Suspect Arrested for Setting Fire to Boston Police Cruiser During Chaotic Street Takeover

A third person has been arrested in connection with a 100-person Boston street takeover that happened in October and resulted in a police cruiser set on fire.

David Moran-Chavez, 19, of Norwalk, Conn. was arrested early Thursday morning at his home, according to the Boston Police Department. A search warrant was also conducted on the Connecticut home by Boston police with its partners in Norwalk, police said.

Moran-Chavez faces charges related to being a fugitive from justice, burning a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of fireworks and disturbing the peace, police said. He is expected to be arraigned in Connecticut.

The 19-year-old is one of three teenagers, all of whom are from out-of-state, who have been arrested in connection with the incident on Oct. 5.

On that Sunday in October, more than 100 people gathered at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street. It was a coordinated effort to shut down the road with personal vehicles for “doughnuts” and street racing, police said.

When officers arrived to break up the crowd, several people started to throw fireworks, cones, poles and other objects at police cruisers.

A Boston police cruiser caught fire after it was surrounded by the crowd, and several members of the crowd jumped on its hood, according to the release.

This prevented the officer inside — who was driving in circles, attempting to get away from the crowd — from being able to see, prosecutors said in court during the arraignments for the two other Rhode Island teenagers arrested at the scene of the takeover.

The officer escaped their cruiser after it began to fill with “sparks and smoke,” and other officers jumped into help with tasers and “unholstered” guns, the prosecutor said. The crowd was finally dispersed with more officers responding to the scene and firefighters extinguished the flaming, totaled cruiser.

The investigation that led to Moran-Chavez’s arrest was conducted by Boston police officers and detectives, members of the department’s auto theft unit and its fire investigation unit.

The department thanked the public for its “tremendous support,” especially from private citizens and businesses who shared videos and information. It also thanked the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Norwalk Police Department in Connecticut, Randolph and state police and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) for the help in the investigation.

Investigators are still working to identify other individuals involved and asks anyone with information to contact the department at 617-343-5619 or share videos and photos at www.BPDnews.com/CrimeStoppers.

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