Interesting article:
Taking the law into their own hands
FITCHBURG -- Michael Noonan chased an alleged burglar out of his Union Street house and helped lead police to where the man was hiding.
Bob Pelullo wrestled a robber to the ground in his Day Street barbershop and chased the suspect to his car.
Kit Tucker ran down a man he saw robbing a Main Street business and fought the suspect until police arrived.
As the number of people fighting against criminals in the city seems to be on the rise, police are nervous about the potential consequences.
"It's a natural reaction, you don't want to give up your possessions," Fitchburg Capt. Charles Tasca said. "But it can be very dangerous."
Fossa said police generally advise people not fight a perpetrator to avoid the risk of injury. There are times, Fossa said, when fighting is the only solution.
"If a person feels they are going to get hurt, they sometimes decide to defend themselves," he said. "It should be decided on a case-by-case basis."
Noonan heard rustling coming from his living room around 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 14 and thought it was his 12-year-old step-daughter.
When he went to investigate, he saw a man with his hand on the floor and his legs hanging out of the first-floor window.
The suspect took off running when he saw Noonan and Noonan decided to chase him. Noonan said he didn't think long about why he decided to chase the suspect.
"It's my place," he said.
Noonan chased the suspect from Union Street to Snow Street while he used his phone to call police. Noonan wanted to catch the suspect, he said.
"I told him, 'Dude, just stop running, cause I'm gonna get you,'" he said. "I could have jumped him."
Police caught up with Noonan at the corner of Union and Snow streets and Noonan told them he saw the suspect running toward Green Street. Officers found Michael Harju, 22, of 38 Green St., and arrested him on charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and placing a person in fear, according to police.
Noonan's actions helped police make the arrest.
"I would do it again," he said. "You gotta stand up for yourself."
But suspects in robberies and burglaries should be considered desperate and dangerous, Tasca said.
"You just never know when they are going to have a weapon," Tasca said.
Bob Pelullo, the owner of Ideal Barbershop on Day Street, used a cup of hot tea when he was confronted by a robber claiming to have a weapon back in February 2005.
"I just threw the hot ... cup of tea in his face," Pelullo said.
The robber walked into the barber shop and demanded that Pelullo turn over the money in the cash register.
"I told him to get out of here," he said.
The suspect told Pelullo he was armed and had a weapon in his pocket, but the 63-year-old Pelullo didn't believe him.
"If he had a weapon, he would have taken it out," he said. "I took a gamble, I guess."
Pelullo threw the tea at the suspect and the two then fought, with Pelullo wrestling the suspect to the ground. The suspect managed to take money out of Pelullo's pocket, about $18, and then he tried to get away, Pelullo said.
"I still don't know how the hell he got $18 off me," he said.
Pelullo chased the suspect out to the street where the suspect's car was parked. Pelullo said the man had locked his car before coming into the store, and had to unlock the door to make his getaway.
That gave Pelullo time to take down the suspect's license plate number. Pelullo also bent the car's radio antenna, he said.
Pelullo gave police a description of the suspect, Mark M. Moses, then 25, who used to live on Day Street. Police arrested Moses that day after he allegedly stole a cash register from Pizza Chateau on Boulder Drive.
Pelullo said he doesn't think about what might have happened if Moses really had a gun.
"I had a hunch he didn't have a weapon," he said.
Trying to decide if a suspect has a weapon or not is not a situation people should put themselves in, Fossa said.
"I wouldn't want to make that decision, whether it's a real weapon or not. It could prove to be fatal," he said.
In another incident, Kit Tucker, 60, owner of Roux Travel on Main Street, arrived at his office after playing tennis around 6 a.m. on May 31 when he saw a man coming out of the convenience store next to his travel agency with two shopping bags full of merchandise.
But he also noticed the glass in the store's front door was broken, he said.
Tucker owns the building where the convenience store was and he said he didn't want them to get robbed.
"I've got good tenants and they were getting ripped off," he said.
Tucker chased the suspect up to Blossom Street where they began fighting.
"We came to a mutual agreement," he said.
Tucker grabbed a hold of the man's shirt while chasing the suspect, and the man turned and hit the cell phone out of Tucker's hand.
Tucker said they exchange blows for about 90 seconds before police arrived and arrested Wilmer Delgado-Soba, then 36.
"I was just doing what a lot of guys around here are doing," he said.
Tucker said people on Main Street look out for each other and won't put up with crime.
"You have to protect yourself," he said. "You do what you have to do."
Still, Fossa said people should avoid putting themselves in danger.
"Give up the property or cash, you can always get more," he said.
Taking the law into their own hands
FITCHBURG -- Michael Noonan chased an alleged burglar out of his Union Street house and helped lead police to where the man was hiding.
Bob Pelullo wrestled a robber to the ground in his Day Street barbershop and chased the suspect to his car.
Kit Tucker ran down a man he saw robbing a Main Street business and fought the suspect until police arrived.
As the number of people fighting against criminals in the city seems to be on the rise, police are nervous about the potential consequences.
"It's a natural reaction, you don't want to give up your possessions," Fitchburg Capt. Charles Tasca said. "But it can be very dangerous."
Fossa said police generally advise people not fight a perpetrator to avoid the risk of injury. There are times, Fossa said, when fighting is the only solution.
"If a person feels they are going to get hurt, they sometimes decide to defend themselves," he said. "It should be decided on a case-by-case basis."
Noonan heard rustling coming from his living room around 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 14 and thought it was his 12-year-old step-daughter.
When he went to investigate, he saw a man with his hand on the floor and his legs hanging out of the first-floor window.
The suspect took off running when he saw Noonan and Noonan decided to chase him. Noonan said he didn't think long about why he decided to chase the suspect.
"It's my place," he said.
Noonan chased the suspect from Union Street to Snow Street while he used his phone to call police. Noonan wanted to catch the suspect, he said.
"I told him, 'Dude, just stop running, cause I'm gonna get you,'" he said. "I could have jumped him."
Police caught up with Noonan at the corner of Union and Snow streets and Noonan told them he saw the suspect running toward Green Street. Officers found Michael Harju, 22, of 38 Green St., and arrested him on charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and placing a person in fear, according to police.
Noonan's actions helped police make the arrest.
"I would do it again," he said. "You gotta stand up for yourself."
But suspects in robberies and burglaries should be considered desperate and dangerous, Tasca said.
"You just never know when they are going to have a weapon," Tasca said.
Bob Pelullo, the owner of Ideal Barbershop on Day Street, used a cup of hot tea when he was confronted by a robber claiming to have a weapon back in February 2005.
"I just threw the hot ... cup of tea in his face," Pelullo said.
The robber walked into the barber shop and demanded that Pelullo turn over the money in the cash register.
"I told him to get out of here," he said.
The suspect told Pelullo he was armed and had a weapon in his pocket, but the 63-year-old Pelullo didn't believe him.
"If he had a weapon, he would have taken it out," he said. "I took a gamble, I guess."
Pelullo threw the tea at the suspect and the two then fought, with Pelullo wrestling the suspect to the ground. The suspect managed to take money out of Pelullo's pocket, about $18, and then he tried to get away, Pelullo said.
"I still don't know how the hell he got $18 off me," he said.
Pelullo chased the suspect out to the street where the suspect's car was parked. Pelullo said the man had locked his car before coming into the store, and had to unlock the door to make his getaway.
That gave Pelullo time to take down the suspect's license plate number. Pelullo also bent the car's radio antenna, he said.
Pelullo gave police a description of the suspect, Mark M. Moses, then 25, who used to live on Day Street. Police arrested Moses that day after he allegedly stole a cash register from Pizza Chateau on Boulder Drive.
Pelullo said he doesn't think about what might have happened if Moses really had a gun.
"I had a hunch he didn't have a weapon," he said.
Trying to decide if a suspect has a weapon or not is not a situation people should put themselves in, Fossa said.
"I wouldn't want to make that decision, whether it's a real weapon or not. It could prove to be fatal," he said.
In another incident, Kit Tucker, 60, owner of Roux Travel on Main Street, arrived at his office after playing tennis around 6 a.m. on May 31 when he saw a man coming out of the convenience store next to his travel agency with two shopping bags full of merchandise.
But he also noticed the glass in the store's front door was broken, he said.
Tucker owns the building where the convenience store was and he said he didn't want them to get robbed.
"I've got good tenants and they were getting ripped off," he said.
Tucker chased the suspect up to Blossom Street where they began fighting.
"We came to a mutual agreement," he said.
Tucker grabbed a hold of the man's shirt while chasing the suspect, and the man turned and hit the cell phone out of Tucker's hand.
Tucker said they exchange blows for about 90 seconds before police arrived and arrested Wilmer Delgado-Soba, then 36.
"I was just doing what a lot of guys around here are doing," he said.
Tucker said people on Main Street look out for each other and won't put up with crime.
"You have to protect yourself," he said. "You do what you have to do."
Still, Fossa said people should avoid putting themselves in danger.
"Give up the property or cash, you can always get more," he said.
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