State Police arrest man accused of breaking into cars in Museum of Science garage

By Colin A. Young, Globe Correspondent

A Lowell man suspected in several break-ins at the Museum of Science parking garage was arrested – and briefly hospitalized – after leading State Police troopers on a chase and then suffering from symptoms of an apparent drug overdose.

Ryan T. Parrott, 24, will be charged with disorderly conduct and charges stemming from two outstanding warrants, State Police said. The parking garage break-ins remain under investigation.

Shortly before 11 a.m., security officers at the Museum of Science in Cambridge called State Police to report that they were chasing a man they suspected was breaking into several cars in the garage. State Police Lieutenant Eric Anderson, who was working a detail near the museum’s entrance, spotted Parrott on the second floor of the garage and began to chase him on foot.

Troopers chased Parrott as he ran across Monsignor O’Brien Highway, behind the Museum Towers condos and into a Department of Conservation and Recreation labor yard. After a brief struggle, Parrott was arrested. State Police said Parrott then began to suffer a medical emergency.

“He began to have labored breathing and slumped over. Based on the troopers’s experience, they determined that he appeared to be suffering from symptoms of a drug overdose,” State Police spokesman David Procopio said. “The troopers called Cambridge EMS to respond and took the handcuffs off of him. He did not lose consciousness, but it was obvious he was in pain, so he was transported to MGH.”

In a statement, State Police said Parrott “made statements relative to heroin use.”

Troopers recovered a plastic shopping bag and a black backpack Parrott dropped during the pursuit. Between the two bags and Parrott’s wallet, troopers found a number of gift cards, credit cards, IDs for another man, a Nintendo DS, and an iPod. Procopio said the iPod contained thousands of pictures of another man with a family.

Parrott was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital and released, Procopio said. He is being held without bail and is due to be arraigned in Cambridge District Court today or tomorrow.