MIAMI SPRINGS, Fla. – James Dean didn’t think twice when he saw a man with a flashlight scoping out his garage: The Miami Springs homeowner took matters into his own hands and chased down the suspect.
Police said it all happened Sunday morning.
Dean, who said he’s been robbed in the past, pushed the man — identified by authorities as Julio Mesa —down, picked him up and walked him to a nearby cul-de-sac.
“He was on the ground like this, I was holding him by the back of his coat,” Dean said. “When he reached for his pockets I grabbed his sleeves and kind of held him together.”
Police strongly discourage what Dean did, asking concerned residents to call them instead, but Dean said his family was not going to be robbed again.
“I didn’t think about it,” Dean said. “I just reacted when I saw it.”
Dean said Mesa claimed he was looking for his dog.
“He went into the threshold and that’s kind of where the line was drawn,” Dean said. “There’s no way you’re looking for your dog if you’re running away.”
Mesa was arrested on a charge of loitering and prowling. Police said he couldn’t explain to officers why he was wearing a hoodie and mask.
“I just wanted to stop him, because if I let him go, then maybe he continues another time or some of my neighbors end up suffering,” Dean said.
Mesa was no longer listed in Miami-Dade jail records as of Thursday evening.