Cambridge Pair Arrested For Break-In At Lowell

Two Cambridge men were arrested in Lowell House Tuesday after a police officer found them in a student room, Harvard police said yesterday.

James J. Driscoll, 18, and John Estrella, 17, were charged with breaking and entering in the daytime, Deputy Chief Jack W. Morse said.

Morse said police responded to Lowell House at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after a resident called to report that "two white males were soliciting" for Muscular Dystrophy.

When a responding officer checked the building for suspects, he "observed two white males running up the stairway to the third floor," Morse said.

According to Morse, the officer saw the two men enter an unlocked room in D entry. "He was right behind them when they went in," Morse said.

The officer followed the pair into the room and arrested them, Morse said. No students were present, he said.

Elena Carroll, the regional director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, said yesterday that she could not say for certain whether the men were authorized to solicit for the charity.

"We have a number of community groups which have fundraisers for us," Carroll said.

Driscoll and Estrella were arraigned yesterday before Cambridge District Court Judge David E. Harrison, court officials said.

Estrella was released on $50 bail and Driscoll was released on personal recognizance, according to court clerks.

Head clerk Thomas Begley said the men were scheduled to return to court for a hearing on March 15.

Morse said suspicious people found on Harvard property often say they are affiliated with a charity.

"Just about everybody you catch in buildings are looking for somebody or soliciting for some group," Morse said.