BOSTON, June 18, 2015—A Chicago man was arraigned yesterday on charges he forced his way into the motorman compartment of an Orange Line train in an alleged attempt to drive the train, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

REECE D. CONRAD (D.O.B. 6/14/71) was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court yesterday on charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with public transportation.  Assistant District Attorney Brad Tully requested that bail be set at $500; Judge Sally Kelly released Conrad on his own recognizance.

Tully told the court that Transit Police responded to Tufts Medical Center Station shortly before 11:40 Tuesday night, where they spoke with the operator of an Orange Line train that was stopped at the station awaiting officers’ arrival.

The operator reported to police that a man standing on the platform at State Street station – later identified as Conrad – approached the window of the train’s motorman booth and asked to drive the train.  The operator told him that he could ride the train but not drive it, at which time Conrad boarded the train.

Once onboard, Conrad pressed the emergency intercom button twice, each time asking to drive the train; the operator told him no each time.  Conrad is alleged to have then pulled the emergency stop lever and forcing his way into the operator’s compartment of the train.  A passenger helped the operator remove Conrad and the motorman booth was then secured, prosecutors said.

Upon the train’s arrival at Tufts Medical Center, its doors remained closed until Transit Police officers arrived on scene.  Several passengers identified Conrad as the man who had caused the disruption.  As Transit Police officers took him into custody, they asked why he wanted to drive the train so badly.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he allegedly responded.

Conrad returns to court Sept. 4.

–30–

All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.