By Jim Clark

Police officers inside of the Somerville Police Sub Station on Broadway heard a loud screeching sound and a loud bang that is consistent with the sound of a motor vehicle crash last Wednesday evening. This was followed by a screeching sound getting closer to their location.

Officers exited the building to see what was happening and observed a large cloud of smoke a bit further down the street.

A man pulled his vehicle in front of the officers and stated that a gray Jeep just ran over a street sign and drove down Broadway towards the Powderhouse Rotary.

Officers drove in the direction where the Jeep fled and they immediately observed what appeared to be tire marks on the road. The tire marks started in the area where the accident happened and continued East on Broadway. The marks on the road then continued onto Lovell St.

The officers turned onto Lovell Street and a witness yelled, “He turned right and then left onto Packard Ave!”

As they continued to follow the tire marks, another witness ran towards their vehicle and stated that the Jeep just turned left onto Teele Ave.

When they turned onto Teele Ave., they followed the tire marks to the driveway of 8 Teele Ave. and in the driveway they observed a Jeep with two flat tires on the driver’s side of the vehicle.

They then observed a man, now known as the father of the suspect Shaun Lyons, walking out of the front door of his house.

The officers asked the man if he was driving the vehicle and he did not respond with a clear answer. He appeared to be confused and asked what was going on. After he was informed of what happened he responded by saying, “Whatever my son damaged, he can pay for it.”

The officers then asked the man where his son was and if he is the owner of the vehicle. At first the man denied knowing where he was but did confirm that his son is the registered owner.

The officers were informed that Lyons owned a firearm and it was uncertain if he still had access to it. The man then walked inside of the house and exited with his son, Shaun Lyons, onto the sidewalk.

Police asked Lyons what happened and he reportedly stated that he did not know what was going on because he was sleeping the entire time.

When Lyons made this statement, the officers reportedly observed that his speech was slurred and that his eyes were red and glassy.

During a pat frisk an officer reportedly felt a hard object in his right pants pocket. He asked Lyons if it was a weapon or keys and he did not reply. After pulling the object out of the pocket, the officers observed a black smart key with the word Jeep on the back.

The officers asked Lyons what happened and if he was driving. He then asked an officer how many years has he been on the job. He then reportedly started screaming that he did nothing and he was sleeping.

The officers detected a strong odor of alcohol emanating from Lyons, who continued to scream and evaded all of the officers’ questions.

Lyons was then placed under arrest for reckless operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of property damage, and operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.

Police asked Lyons’ father if he could explain what exactly happened. He stated that he heard a loud screeching sound coming into his driveway, so he went to the front door and Lyons immediately walked past him and said nothing happened and to go back inside of the house. At this point, he stated that the police had arrived on scene.