Billings, Montana
From the September 21, 2009 Billings Gazette:
A Billings man driving home from work around 5 p.m. Monday spotted his car that had been stolen from him that morning. He chased the car until it stopped on the 2600 block of Fourth Avenue South and managed to hold one of the passengers at gunpoint until police arrived.
"He was actually going home from work at the time of the call," Billings Police Sgt. Scott Conrad said. "It was a red Suburban. He chases it down and there's four occupants in the vehicle. Three run. He catches one of the passengers, with one hand at gunpoint and one hand on the phone calling police dispatch."
Billings police arrived minutes later and ordered the man to the ground. They took the teen into custody and released the man once they realized what had happened. Conrad said the boy helped police identify those who had allegedly stolen the car, and the boy was later released.
"He actually helped in the case," Conrad said. "We do know who we're looking for."
Labels: civilian arrest, MT
Chandler, Arizona
From the Arizona Republic of September 2, 2009
Armed homeowner holds youth suspected of burglary try
A Chandler homeowner, armed with a gun, took one of two juveniles into custody after they broke into his home.
The homeowner's 13-year-old son was the only person at the house, in the 800 block of West Elgin Street, when two juveniles knocked on his front door on Monday.
The boy did not open the front door. The juveniles forced their way through the back door, police said. The boy ran to a neighbor's home, and his neighbors called police.
The boy's father got home before authorities arrived, grabbed his gun and took one of the juveniles into custody.
Police apprehended the second juvenile when he jumped from the second story and attempted to flee from the home.
Both juveniles, who are Chandler residents, were arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary, police said.
Their names and pictures are being withheld by police.
Labels: AZ, civilian arrest, minor offender, residence burglary
Boise, Idaho
From July 18, 2009 KIVI channel 6:
Boise Police received a call of a man with a gun this afternoon at approximately 1:18 p.m. in the area of Americana and River Streets. As multiple Boise Police units arrived on the scene, they located two men with handguns and de-escalated the situation.
According to BPD spokesman Charles McClure, "Witnesses tell police that the original suspect, later identified as John Dickey, had stolen personal property from the victim at a nearby homeless shelter. The suspect fled on foot traveling Eastbound on River Street. As the victim chased the suspect on foot, a third man intevened in the chase by producing a handgun and ordering the suspect to stop. The suspect was on the ground and held at gunpoint when the third citizen -- who was also a concealed weapons permit holder and only saw a man with a gun pointing it at someone, intervened and demanded that the other man drop his gun. Officers then arrived on scene and took the suspect into custody."
At this time, the original theft suspect -- John W. Dickey, 46 -- has been taken into custody and charged with misdemeanor petit theft. Dickey has no known address.
Labels: civilian arrest, concealed carry permit, ID, street property theft
South Bend, Indiana
From the May 8, 2009 South Bend Tribune:
MISHAWAKA — Two young girls, sisters, were in critical condition late Thursday after being run down earlier in the evening while crossing the street arm-in-arm after playing with friends.
The driver reportedly attempted to flee, but was stopped at gunpoint by a man who witnessed the accident.
According to witnesses, the two girls, ages 4 and 6, were crossing 11th Street at Dodge Street about 7:18 p.m. when a man traveling west on 11th in a blue Chevrolet Lumina struck both of them at about 40 mph.
"No sooner had they crossed the street than I heard tires lock up and, 'Boom! Boom!,'æ" said Alan Knepp, who was standing just up the street when the girls were hit.
Knepp said the younger girl passed quickly beneath the vehicle, but her older sister rode the hood for several seconds before falling beneath the front end and then under both driver's side tires.
The girls behind him, the driver then hit the gas, witnesses said, but stopped when Knepp, who was legally carrying a gun, jumped in front of the vehicle and trained his weapon on it.
Approached by Knepp, the driver reportedly said the girls had jumped out in front of him. He then handed his keys to Knepp and stood silently next to his vehicle until police arrived.
The girls, meanwhile, lay nearly lifeless in the road, witnesses said. The younger one initially was not breathing, and the older one's limbs and neck were badly twisted.
Fetched by a neighbor, the girls' mother arrived moments later and reportedly passed out at the sight of her daughters' motionless bodies.
Both girls were rushed by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in South Bend with critical injuries, Mishawaka police Capt. Pasquale Rulli said. One was immediately admitted into surgery, he said, and the other flown to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
Labels: civilian arrest, IN
