Let The Police Handle It

Mob of kids chase down suspicious stranger

Wielding baseball bats and sticks, a mob in northwest Houston today chased down a man suspected of preying on neighborhood children in recent weeks.

"We know him. The whole neighborhood knows him," said Carlos Gonzalez.

Residents told police the 44-year-old man tried to lure children into his van last week while it was parked at a nearby elementary school. They also accused him of hugging a 12-year-old boy on Saturday while he was wearing women's clothing.

Sharp-eyed neighborhood children initiated the pursuit of the suspected child predator.

"The little kids spotted him. The little kids started the chase," Gonzalez said. "All the little kids in the neighborhood -- they had sticks an everything."

The guy's been around so much everyone knows him. He hasn't yet done anything they could arrest him for (?) but you know where this behavior is headed. It's scaring the kids and the parents. People shouldn't be prisoners in their own home because of people scumbags like this. What can the police do about it, even if they arrested him he would be back out in no time. What judge would sentance a man to jail for wearing womens clothes and hugging a child these days? They'd prefer to give him a medal. But ...

The mob cornered the man in a fenced-in yard near Granite and Bolin where he waited for police to arrive.

The homeowner called police and pleaded with the crowd to not harm the man. Gonzalez said the man dropped a bundle on the ground which contained a girl's shirt wrapped around several pictures of small children.

"He was sitting there sniffing the shirt, laughing at us," Gonzalez said.

Officers arrested the man when they discovered the van he was driving had been stolen. They found several pairs of socks, a boy's T-shirt and a pair of girl's underwear inside the vehicle.

Though arrested for car theft, detectives were attempting to determine if he had been under investigation on child molestation or related charges.

While nobody was hurt during Sunday's pursuit, officers said citizens shouldn't take the law into their own hands.

"You need to call law enforcement and let us handle that," said Houston police officer S.A. Burk.

Yes, that's right. The criminal has to be able to get away.

Police said officers have responded to two calls in the area in the recent past, but none resulted in any arrest.

I'm not for vigilante justice but the pendulum has swung way too far in the other direction. There is no way the police can be there to save you're butt except by pure accident. Let the criminal do whatever he wants and when he has safely gone, call the police to help you. NO, this neighborhood did the right thing. You want to come around here causing trouble, you're going to get more trouble than you bargained for.

"I hope he doesn't come back," Martinez said. "Something bad is going to happen if he shows up around this neighborhood."

Damn straight.