FOUNTAIN VALLEY

Cheryl Pearce and her son, Robert, were in the right place at the right time--and the Police Department honored them for it Wednesday with a Crime Biter Award. The ceremony included distinctions for the Pearces and 16 other residents who reported crimes ranging from graffiti to drunk driving, auto burglary and residential burglary.

“I don’t feel like I did anything out of the ordinary,” Cheryl Pearce said. “Anyone in my situation would have done the same thing. If we don’t watch out for each other, who will?”

Two months ago, while sitting in their family van on Magnolia Street, she and her son watched police officers arrest a man they suspected of robbing a nearby bicycle store. The Pearces saw a second person ride a bicycle out of the shop wearing a backpack bulging with bike gear and clothing. While police were busy with the first suspect, the Pearces followed the other and used a cell phone to call police, who captured the second suspect.

“She acted as the ears and eyes of the Police Department,” Sgt. Jim Perry said of Cheryl Pearce. “It’s people like her who take criminals off the street and help put them in jail, where they belong.”