Mather Car Vandal Caught

University police charged a Mather House resident and a Harvard alumnus with malicious destruction of property for stomping on several parked cars this weekend, Police Chief Paul E. Johnson said.

House guards spotted Christopher M. Andre '94 and Timothy Reilly '91 Saturday night jumping up and down on the roofs and hoods of six cars parked on Plympton Street, according to the police account.

Police officers said they will not press the charges, however, unless the students refuse to pay for damages. Andre could not be reached for comment.

The men were "causing major damage" and fled after guards sighted them, police representatives said.

A third student may have been involved in the incident, they said.

Officers stopped Andre and Reilly, who had been attending a party at the A.D. Club, at the Mather House gate. Johnson said the men initially denied they were involved in the crime, but owned up to it" after their sneakers matched the imprints on the cars.

"We screwed up, but we didn't break any windshields," Andre said, according to police.

Police said the damage caused by the students included cracked windshields and hoods marred by sneaker marks and scratches. Johnson said Andre offered to take the blame for Reilly, who was visiting from Baltimore.

The owners of the cars have been notified, as have officials in Mather House.

Timothy B. Paydos '92, former associate business manager of The Crimson, said the students shattered his car's windshield.

"I had to rent a car to go home for Easter," he said. "The police didn't tell me the name of the guy because they thought I might beat the shit out of him."

In an unrelated incident, police arrested a Waltham man for drunk driving after he crashed into the back of a Harvard escort car late Friday night.

The University vehicle was stopped at a red light on Mass Avenue when Christopher A. Graham, 24, rammed into its rear bumper.

Sgt. Robert Sutherland, the driver of the escort car, was taken to University Health Services and treated for back and neck pains. He was released later that night.

Johnson said the three passengers being driven to North House were not hurt in the crash.

Cambridge police tested Graham using the Field Sobriety Test. "He flunked it," Johnson said.

When Graham hit the escort car, it jolted forward and bumped the car in front of it, police said. The car sustained damage in front and rear, but will not need to be replaced.

Graham was arraigned Saturday morning in a Cambridge District Court.