A California man suspected of stealing an old Honda Accord on Monday morning got a lot more than he bargained for after the owner tracked him down, beat him up, and detained him until police officers arrived, according to the Anderson Police Department.
The unnamed victim had a rough start to his week after waking up and discovering his blue 1991 Honda Accord had been stolen. After calling police and filing a report, the victim then posted a picture of his car on Facebook and asked people to keep their eyes open. Sure enough, an hour later a friend called to report he’d spotted it in a nearby parking lot.
The intrepid friend then tailed the Honda through town, updating the owner on its location until he could join the pursuit in another vehicle. At this point, the driver of the stolen car, identified by police as 29-year-old Aaron William Ashby, realized he was being followed and took off. Unfortunately, he quickly turned down a residential cul-de-sac and drove straight into a concrete curb that was hidden under a large pile of leaves. He then tried to flee on foot, but in the words of the department’s press release, “the victim had other plans.”
“Words were exchanged between Ashby and the victim, but Ashby would not wait for police to arrive,” the release reads. “The victim tackled Ashby as he was trying to get away in an effort to affect a citizen’s arrest and hold him for police. A fight occurred, and Ashby was quickly subdued by the victim and the victim’s friends.”
There’s nothing subdued about the cuts and bruises on Ashby’s face in his mugshot, but that’s the price of vigilante justice. Police officers responded shortly after and arrested Ashby, slapping him with felony vehicle theft and several other charges. He was also found to be in violation of his parole for a prior robbery charge.
Police aren’t charging the victim or his friends for their extralegal actions; in fact, the release ends by thanking the group for helping to apprehend the suspect, though the department also notes it’s “generally safer” to let the professionals handle things.