Police Honor Boy Who ‘Caught a Big Burglar’

As crime-busters go, Tyler Scott Gossett of Glendale is definitely an early bloomer. He thwarted a daylight burglary at his neighbor’s home--at age 4.

Police say Tyler, who turned 5 last month, spotted the break-in and gave them a description that led to an arrest and the recovery of his neighbor’s jewelry.

Thursday morning, Glendale police visited Sunshine Nursery School in Tujunga to pay tribute. In front of his applauding classmates, Capt. Glynn Martin gave the boy a framed certificate of appreciation.

“Do you all know what he did?” Martin asked the children. “He caught a big burglar for us.”

After the ceremony, Martin, a 25-year department veteran, described the achievement in adult language:

“This is the first instance we know of where someone this young saw a burglary taking place and was essentially able to cause the arrest of the burglar,” he said.

According to police reports, Tyler was playing in his room Jan. 23 when he heard glass break and saw a man in his neighbor’s back yard. He ran to tell his mother, who was in another room.

“I went and looked, and I didn’t see anything,” Betsy Gossett recalled Thursday. “I went back to what I was doing, and being a kid, he kept watching because he knew what he saw.”

When the suspicious man returned to the yard, Tyler “came and got me, and we both saw him climbing in the window,” his mother said.

Because the Gossetts had just moved in, the mother and her son walked next door and checked with another neighbor to make sure that the man they saw was not a resident of the house. The neighbor called 911.

Officers arrested Joseph Anthony Piraino, 24, of Los Angeles, who they said was carrying jewelry and rifle ammunition from the house. Police said Piraino is a state prison parolee who has been linked to one other burglary in Glendale and five in Los Angeles.

In a written report, Officer Michael Walker said Tyler “provided a detailed description of the suspect, notified his mother, Betsy, of the suspect’s actions and guided me to the point of entry. This arrest would not have been possible without Tyler’s assistance,” he wrote.

Tyler told police that the burglar was a white man with a mustache, wearing sunglasses.

The break-in occurred at the home of real estate agent Gloria Barnes, who attended the ceremony honoring Tyler. The boy’s father, Scott Gossett, brought his video camera to proudly record the event.

The boy’s father and teachers described Tyler as an outgoing child who enjoys riding his bicycle and watching “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” on television.

But surrounded Thursday by police officers, flashing cameras and inquisitive reporters, the boy turned shy and declined to talk about the crime or the award.

“He’ll remember this,” Scott Gossett assured onlookers. “This is pretty good.”