Hero tradie performs citizen's arrest after Melbourne man's bizarre crime spree
A hero tradie has chased down a thief accused of going on a bizarre crime spree after crashing his car in the Burnley tunnel in Melbourne.
The Narre Warren North man broke into homes, tried to steal vehicles and attacked a woman with a fire hose during a three-hour rampage.
But, in the back streets of Burnley, the suspect finally met his match.
Police took over after the 34-year-old had been chased and pinned to the ground by Dave Pante, a tradie and local resident.
Just minutes earlier the man had allegedly tried to swipe the keys of Mr Pante’s van.
“I said, ‘mate, what are doing with my keys?’ And he goes, ‘I'll get them back to you,’ and I said, ‘no you're not’. So I got my keys off him and I let him go and then, sure enough, I see him run out of a house so I just took off after him,” Mr Pante told 7 News.
It's believed the suspect fled the scene of a crash after side swiping three other vehicles near the exit of the tunnel.
Over the next three hours he's accused of a lengthy crime spree, involving breaking into two homes, trying to break into a third and attempting to steal two cars.
Pensioner Joan Baglin said she found the man in the kitchen of the home she shares with her 87-year-old brother James and asked the intruder what he wanted.
“He'd come in for a drink of water so I said, ‘no, you've got to leave, I can't help you, I'm an old lady so I want you to leave,” Mrs Baglin said.
At one stage the suspect even approached 7 News, shoeless and seemingly very confused.
He said that his phone had run out of battery and that he'd been injured after falling from a balcony.
Paramedics were called but found that his wounds were minor and did not require treatment.
Another woman who lives in the same area reported a bizarre incident involving the same man.
She said she opened her front door to find the man holding a fire hose, with which he then sprayed her in the face.
The man will face charges including dangerous driving, assault, theft and aggravated burglary.
News break – May 5
