Bicyclist Who Chased Woman's Attacker: 'I Had To Do It'
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A bicyclist chased and tackled an alleged purse-snatcher because he was upset the man had targeted a 75-year-old woman.
"I had no option when I passed the victim and I saw she was an elderly woman. I had to do it," Eric Puetz said Saturday. "She was everybody's grandmother."
Puetz's comments came as the man charged with felony robbery in the Thursday purse snatching on the Northwest Side was ordered jailed on $300,000 bond. Larry Bostic, 34, allegedly jumped the woman and grabbing her purse as she walked in the 3200 block of North Milwaukee Avenue.
Puetz, 51, was riding home from his business at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday when he heard the woman's cries for help, then saw a man running away with her purse. Puetz followed him across a parking lot and down several alleys, even though the man yelled several times that he had a gun.
"It ceased to be a threat after the third time I heard it," said Puetz, who nonetheless waited to tackle the man until he was in a busy area on Belmont.
Police arrived quickly and arrested the man.
Despite his actions, Puetz said he didn't feel like a hero.
"It was just a good coincidence of circumstances," said Puetz. "I was just a guy riding home to have a nice dinner."
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
