Detective hit by stolen cruiser Official fired at suspect as he attempted to flee

JEFFERSON – An Augusta man took control of a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department cruiser on Christmas Day, driving the vehicle over the leg of a detective as he fled in the vehicle, police said.

Detective Sgt. Jason Pease, 27, of Jefferson was taken to Maine General Hospital in Augusta, where he was treated for a knee injury and cuts and bruises. He was later released, according to a sheriff’s department press release. Pease is the son of Jethro Pease, Waldo County commissioner chairman.

The incident that led to Pease’s injury began at 7:50 p.m. when Lincoln County Communications Center got an emergency call from Michael Montagna, 45, of Augusta, reporting that he had smoked a marijuana cigarette that he thought may have been poisoned with another substance.

Montagna apparently had knocked on the door of a Gardiner Road residence and asked to use the telephone to call the emergency dispatch center, police said.

He later fled the home with the cordless telephone. Twenty minutes later, he knocked on the door of another home on the same road.

Pease, who lives near Gardiner Road, had just returned home from another police call when he was dispatched to Montagna’s emergency call.

When Pease arrived, he offered to give Montagna a ride to Maine General Hospital. The detective turned away from the Augusta man for a moment, and Montagna jumped into the driver’s seat of the cruiser, police said.

Pease tried to pull the man from the vehicle, but Montagna had put the cruiser into gear and stepped on the gas.

The still-open cruiser door knocked Pease to the ground and the vehicle ran over one of his legs. Pease fired his weapon at the suspect as he backed away, but did not hit him.

Maine State Police Trooper Chris Tupper apprehended Montagna at 8:40 p.m. at the intersection of Routes 215 and 32 in Jefferson. Montagna was taken to Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta to be examined and later was booked into Lincoln County Jail in Wiscasset on a charge of aggravated assault, police said.

Montagna was released from jail Thursday on $8,000 cash bail, according to a jail officer. He is scheduled to appear Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Wiscasset District Court.

A preliminary investigation by the sheriff’s department indicates that shooting at Montagna was justified, according to the press release.

A review also will be conducted by the Attorney General’s Office, even though the suspect was not hit by the officer’s bullet. That investigation is in progress.

Pease, a former Knox County deputy, will remain on medical leave indefinitely while he undergoes follow-up treatment for his knee injury.