Armed Resident Captures 2 Fleeing Joy-Ride Suspects

A quick-thinking citizen helped police capture two of four teenagers suspected of going for a joy ride in a stolen van Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The man, who asked not to be identified, saw two boys jump over his rear fence at the same time police were searching for them by helicopter and on the ground, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Dan Mastro.

He went into his backyard in the 8100 block of Jumilla Avenue armed with a shotgun and ordered the two boys to put their hands on their heads, Mastro said.

The man then walked the pair out of his backyard and turned them over to officers who had surrounded the neighborhood to search for the suspects.

The incident began about 3:40 p.m., when a pair of patrol officers at Corbin Avenue and Strathern Street noticed a late-model Toyota van occupied by four youths nearly run a stop sign, Mastro said. When the officers attempted to make a traffic stop, the four youths bailed out of the van, abandoning it in the middle of the street with its engine running, police said.

“The suspects fled on foot and started jumping walls in the neighborhood to evade the officers,” Mastro said.

The suspected van driver was taken into custody without incident in less than a minute, he said. One of the suspects is still at large.

The three youths, ages 15 and 16, were charged with joy-riding and released to their parents Sunday evening, Mastro said.

The stolen Toyota van has been returned to its owner. As for the suspect-catching citizen, Mastro offered cautious appreciation.

“It’s extremely dangerous when someone arms themselves and then appears before us,” he said. “We don’t want to have anybody get hurt out there, but it was a noble deed by the homeowner.”