Timing can be everything, can’t it?
A retired martial artist recently found himself putting his skills to the test when he thwarted an armed robbery in Hollywood, just as a thief attempted to make off with a pricey Rolex.
The former fighter, who preferred to stay anonymous, shared that he was walking with his girlfriend in West Hollywood just before 1 p.m. on Wednesday when a masked man, dressed entirely in black, jumped out of a sedan.
In a bold move, the would-be robber demanded that the grappler surrender his luxury watch, but things didn’t go as planned for the thief.
“I managed to disarm him and take the gun away,” he explained. “I kept him pinned down.”
Residents nearby noticed the fracas and rushed to help the man.
Media footage later captured the robber struggling on the ground as several people restrained him.
“He was trying to get up. No chance, we weren’t letting him go,” the fighter recalled.
Adding to the drama, the fighter’s girlfriend—who also wished to remain nameless—snatched the loaded firearm from the robber’s grasp and tossed it away from the chaotic scene. “I just ran and grabbed it, then I threw it over the fence,” she recounted.
A public works employee working next door joined the fray, assisting in holding down the suspect’s legs, while neighbors called 911, witnessing the ex-athlete keeping the alleged robber pinned beneath him.
The vigilantes exhibited “no mercy,” according to witnesses, keeping the gunman restrained until law enforcement arrived.
Resident Patrick McCloskey recalled, “At one point, he dislocated his arm, and they just kept holding him down.”
McCloskey, who was working from home, heard the commotion outside his door. “There was so much chaos, we didn’t even know who was involved,” he said. “When I went to the door, I heard someone yell, ‘Get the gun! Get the gun!’
He added, “What the robber didn’t realize was that the guy was a retired wrestler, so he was able to subdue him quite effectively.”
Eventually, the West Hollywood Police took the unidentified suspect into custody.
Interestingly, another individual had also exited the sedan, but quickly backed out when the gunman failed to successfully snatch the watch.
This incident brings to mind another recent event in September, where an 87-year-old man defended himself against two robbers trying to steal a $48,000 Rolex outside a senior center in Gramercy Park.
Larry Schwartz, 87, and Joanna Cuccia, 89, were walking toward the Stein Senior Center when a male approached, asking for directions to Walmart. “There’s no Walmart in New York City,” Cuccia responded. “Then he said, ‘Oh, tell my wife, tell my wife.'”
