Courageous Citizen Award Honorees

• Robert Koep [ Top ]

Robert was working at a Long Beach supermarket; it was early evening and he was heading back to the lunchroom area for a break.

A man approached him and asked where the bread crumbs could be found. Robert told him, but the man wasn't listening. He said, "Can I ask another question? Do you want to live?" He had the coldest eyes Robert had ever seen, but he had something else, too: a semi-automatic pistol tucked into his waist band.

The man told Robert to keep his mouth shut and to pretend like he was helping the "customer." The two of them walked around the end of the aisle and met a third man, apparently the robber's partner.

They took Robert to the back of the store, into the lunchroom area, where a produce clerk and a box boy were relaxing. The gunman demanded to be taken to the safe. The three employees were herded to the office where the terrified manager opened the safe for the bandits.

But the thieves were not happy. There wasn't enough money in the safe to suit them. So they told the employees to get down on their hands and knees; they unplugged the phone and took the manager out of the office, presumably to threaten him.

As soon as they were out of the room, Robert plugged the phone back in and dialed 911, holding the door closed as best he could while giving the operator descriptions of the hold-up men.

The thieves had heard a noise from within the office; they were suspicious that Robert or the other employees had been up to something. The cold-eyed bandit put his gun to the back of Robert's head. Our honoree thought he was about to die. "There's a lot more money in the cash registers out front," he told them. "Maybe three or four thousand dollars." That got their attention. They grabbed the manager and told him to help them get the money, but the poor man was so nervous Robert was afraid he'd spook somebody and the robbers would start shooting. So he offered himself as a hostage and talked the thieves into taking him instead.

"If you try one thing, you're dead." That's what the one with the gun told him as they headed to the front of the store. The gunman had put his weapon back in his waistband and was pushing a shopping cart ahead of him. They were nearly to the check stands when Robert looked out into the parking lot and saw a police car outside and an officer about to enter the store.

The robbers saw the same thing. They casually abandoned Robert and headed for the door, brazenly trying to walk right by the officers by pretending to be ordinary customers. And it might have worked, if not for our Courageous citizen. Robert, disregarding his own safety once again, called out to the policeman that the man who had just passed him was one of the robbers. They grabbed him, not realizing that the one with the gun was still approaching them from behind.

Just then, another squad car pulled up, more officers approached the door, and fortunately somebody heard Robert's shouted warning that there was another armed robber in their midst. They drew their guns, and the man was arrested without trouble.

As it happens, these two were suspects in seven other armed grocery store robberies. Our honoree's clear and articulate testimony helped convince them to plead guilty and they have been sentenced to fifteen years in state prison.

On two occasions during this incident, Robert could have chosen a safer course. He could have let the robbers take the manager up front instead of him, and once the police arrived, he could have ducked for cover instead of warning the officers that the thieves were getting away. He risked his safety and his life, and as a result of his actions, these two robbers will be off the street for many years.

• Joseph & Alice Facio [ Top ]

Joseph was taking Alice to work (incidentally, she works here at the Queen Mary) when Alice saw a very agitated elderly woman at a gas station. She was screaming and there was a man running away from the scene.

Alice turned to Joseph and said, "Let's get him!" By this time the man was across the street, and Joseph yelled, "Freeze!" Unfortunately, all that got him was a dirty look from the man, who seemed to be carrying the elderly woman's purse. Joseph made a U-turn and headed toward him, but the thief turned and ran into an alley. Joseph followed him.

As Joseph made the turn into the alley, the thief was climbing a trash barrel; from there he was able to hop the fence onto the grounds of an elementary school. Alice jumped out of the car and climbed the fence after him, screaming, "I'm gonna get you!" The man's eyes bulged out and he dropped the purse.

Alice retrieved the purse as the thief climbed a second fence and kept running. She returned to the car and Joseph went to the office of the elementary school to call 911. While doing so, they saw, through the window, the thief talking to a man outside.

Joseph ran out and shouted to the man, "He's a thief! Hold him!" The man did. Joseph went to join the fight, and between them, they were able to hold the thief until the police arrived.

Alice says she enjoyed the experience so much, she "wanted to go get more bad people!" A female police officer who responded told her, "Now you know why I'm a cop." The most gratifying moment occurred when the police, with Joseph and Alice, walked the suspect out of the elementary school office in handcuffs. People across the street, who had watched the whole sequence of events, cheered and applauded.

The suspect eventually pled guilty, and was sentenced to two years state prison.

Both Joseph and Alice say that they acted out of an "instinct to just jump up and do something." If they had not, this thief would have gone on to snatch more purses, or worse.

• Casey Carmichael [ Top ]

Casey was on the way home from a friend's house when he saw a young man standing by a car across the street from an elementary school. The young man looked around, bashed in the car's window, and stuck his hand inside. Several school children were approaching, and stopped when they saw what he was doing.

Casey's wife's car has been broken into five times. Needless to say, seeing this really made him angry. He watched the brazen thief quickly tear something out of the dashboard, wrap it in a sweater that was lying in the back of the car, and run across the street into the alley.

Knowing the neighborhood, Casey went around the block, timing it so that he would meet the thief just as he came out the other end of the alley. He did. He slammed his car into park, jumped out and chased him down a side street until the man hit a dead end. Cornered, the thief turned to face his pursuer. Casey told him, "The best thing for you to do is just give it up. I saw you do it." So persuasive was he, that the man thought for a moment, then dropped to his knees and put his hands behind his head.

Casey walked the young criminal back to the car he'd broken into. The victim had just returned, so Casey had him call the police, and the thief was arrested without further incident. He later pled guilty, got six months in jail and three years probation.

There is little doubt that this criminal would have escaped if not for the quick and determined actions of Casey Carmichael. He says now, "I was tired of seeing things like that. This gave me an opportunity to make a difference."

• Frank Linares & Russell Dandrea [ Top ]

Frank and Russ were working at a supermarket and Frank was getting ready to go on a break when he heard some commotion outside. He saw some customers looking out the door into the parking lot, where two men were pushing and shoving each other next to a car with an open driver's side door.

Frank, figuring rightly that one of the men was trying to steal the other's car, ran out to the lot to try and help. Russ, who was working at a rather busy checkstand just then, saw Frank run out of the store and dropped everything to go help. By the time they got there, the bad guy was in the car with the door closed and the owner was leaning in through the driver's side window, struggling with him. Russ recognized the man who apparently owned the car as a regular customer; he and Frank rushed to his side and tried to pull the prospective car thief out. The man tried to bite Frank just before he got the car started and threw it in reverse.

For a moment, all three men were stuffed into the driver's side window, wrestling with the thief as the car sped backwards. Then Frank and Russell dropped off and the owner of the car was left hanging on. Somehow he got the key turned off again, and as the car slowed to a stop, Frank and Russ converged on the car, dragged the thief out and wrestled him to the ground.

He had originally approached the victim brandishing a screwdriver. He had held it to the car owner's throat and demanded the car keys. Presumably our honorees kept him too busy during the course of his attempted theft to use it on anyone.

After the police had come and arrested the thief, Frank and Russ went back to work as though nothing had ever happened. According to Russ, the two of them have been in situations like this in the past dealing with shoplifters. "It was nothing new to us," he says.

The suspect was found guilty in a jury trial and sentenced to 12 years state prison. Without the help of our honorees, he may have escaped with the car, and gone on to carjack others, as well.

Joseph was in his back yard, playing with his dogs, when he heard something on the fence. Whatever it was, it sounded much too large and clumsy to be a neighborhood cat. He looked over and saw a man climbing over a neighbor's fence into the alley.

People in Joseph's neighborhood look out for one another, and Joseph knew the man didn't belong there. So he hopped the fence, too, and started looking for him. After a few moments, he saw the man hiding in tall grass, under some bushes. In a loud voice, Joseph said, "Don't move." At that, the man popped up, threw a woman's purse at him, and ran.

Joseph ran after him, down the alley and up the street, and he realized at some point that there were others chasing him too. Joseph caught up with the man on the corner and wrestled him to the ground. He and some others in the neighborhood held the man down until police arrived.

As it turned out, the man had stolen the purse from another of Joseph's neighbors. And, if he had been the kind of person to mind his own business and look the other way, this thief might have escaped to steal again. Asked how he felt about the incident, Joseph replied, "I felt good because I helped to get the garbage off the street."

• Anthony Alvarado [ Top ]

If somebody sat down and tried to plan the worst possible day and night for Tony Alvarado, it might have gone something like this: Tony got a call at work, telling him that his wife, who was three months pregnant, was in the hospital with some potentially serious problems. He left work and went to the hospital to see his wife and to pick up their two children.

On the way home, he stopped at McDonald's, and, while waiting at the drive-through, his little boy said, "Look, Dad! An alien!" Tony looked inside the restaurant and saw a man wearing a mask, which wasn't as alarming as it sounds because this was the night before Halloween. What was alarming was the fact that this particular alien had a gun tucked into his waist band.

The man adjusted his mask, allowing Tony to get a good look at his face. He was pushing the girl who worked inside the restaurant, apparently demanding money from her. He looked over and saw Tony and his kids staring, drew his gun and pointed it at them through the restaurant window.

Tony was blocked in; there were cars in front and in back of him. He couldn't go anywhere, and he interpreted the gunman's threat to mean that he and his children might be the next order of business. So he told the kids to get down on the floor and jumped out of the car.

His first job had been at that very McDonald's, so he knew his way around. He ran to the back door and waited. A moment later, the robbers burst out that door and Tony slammed the door into them with the full weight of his body. While the others fled, Tony fought with one of them, despite having hurt himself on the door. The man escaped and Tony went after them.

Unfortunately, as he was chasing them through the parking lot, he ran into a metal pole and cracked two ribs. The robber he'd fought with turned around and shot at him from a distance of perhaps thirty feet, but missed. Tony still continued after them, overtaking their car as they attempted to flee. He got a partial license plate number and description of the car, as well as descriptions of the suspects themselves.

Tony returned to his children where Sheriff's deputies had already arrived. He gave deputies the information he had on the suspects, their vehicle, and the direction in which they'd gone. Thanks to him, they were caught within minutes.

But Tony's big adventure wasn't over. Because of his injuries, Tony was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where a remark he made was misunderstood by the doctor. The doctor thought it was Tony who had robbed the McDonald's and called hospital security, who then arrested and handcuffed him!

Fortunately, the mistake was eventually cleared up and Tony wound up receiving the Certificate of Community Service Award from the Long Beach Police Department and being nominated for the Courageous Citizen Award, which he richly deserves. Thanks to his help, one of the defendants in this case is now in prison for over 25 years, the other for two years.

Incidentally, Tony's wife went on to deliver a healthy baby boy.

• Sinnaca Bell [ Top ]

Sinnaca, age 16, was on his way to work with friends when they saw a big man forcing a woman up against a waist-high chain-link fence. Sinnaca yelled at the man, telling him to leave her alone. The man called back that he was a probation officer and threatened to have Sinnaca put on probation if he didn't mind his own business.

Sinnaca thought to himself, "I don't care if you are a probation officer. This is wrong." Sinnaca realized that he was no match for the woman's assailant, but he continued to harass the man in an effort to distract him.

That's exactly what did happen. In threatening Sinnaca, he was distracted long enough for the woman to break free. He tried to chase after her, but Sinnaca momentarily blocked him, enabling the woman to run into a nearby store. Both the assailant and our courageous citizen then followed her into the store, where, coincidentally, Sinnaca was working at the time.

Once inside, Sinnaca continued to screen the larger man from his intended victim. Somehow, the woman slipped past and ran outside. Again, our honoree got between her and her attacker, slowing him down long enough for her to climb into the van of a stranger who had seen her situation and had offered her a ride.

The man ran out of the store and chased the van to a stop sign, where he climbed halfway into the passenger side window in an effort to pull his screaming victim out. Sinnaca ran to a nearby street. He flagged down a patrol car and directed the officers to the scene of the action. After a brief struggle, the attacker was on the ground and in handcuffs.

Sinnaca's willingness to testify made a major difference in the prosecution's case. The defendant ultimately pled guilty, was sentenced to jail, and, ironically, probation.

• Agustin "Augie" Sanchez [ Top ]

Augie is on disability, but keeps busy taking care of the grounds at the apartment building where he lives. On rent day, the landlord is in the custom of sitting in his car outside the building while the tenants bring him their rent. This particular day, Augie was standing on the sidewalk nearby, chatting with one of his neighbors, when one of the local troublemakers approached the car. Right in front of Augie and the other man, he pulled a 12 inch knife out of his waistband and climbed halfway into the passenger side window, demanding all the rent money.

Our courageous citizen put his cane on the roof of the car, reached in from behind the attacker, got a grip on his knife hand and an arm around his neck, and dragged him out of the car. The landlord (no fool) drove away quickly as our honoree struggled with his assailant for control of the knife. Augie wrestled it away from him, actually lifting him up and hurling him to the ground. The man came at him again, but by this time Augie had the knife in one hand and his cane in the other. He stood his ground. Sputtering threats and empty bluster, the would-be robber could only walk away.

Not long afterward, the victim returned with the police. Augie helped them locate the suspect, who lived nearby, and identified him as the man who had attempted the robbery. Augie came forward again at the preliminary hearing, ready to testify, and again at the trial. Thanks in part to his willingness, the defendant pled guilty, admitting the knife use, and was sentenced to five years in state prison.

• Gerald Mays [ Top ]

One of Gerald's two jobs is to serve as manager at a residential AIDS shelter. He was out on the front steps of the shelter, chatting with some residents when he saw a truck sail through a stop sign, smashing into a car broadside at full speed. The car struck a light standard at the other end of the intersection, then a wall, and it burst into flames.

The driver of the truck practically fell out and started running, as did his passenger. Unfortunately for them, they ran right by Gerald and the shelter residents, who had seen the whole thing. Gerald ran down the steps and tackled the driver, who reeked of alcohol. Some residents grabbed the passenger. Gerald directed the residents to hold the two and to call 911 while he ran to the burning car.

He grabbed a garden hose and tried to put out the fire, but it kept reigniting. So he decided to get the victim out without further delay. The victim was badly injured. Gerald, who has had medical training in first aid and CPR, cleared the man's airway and checked for neck injuries, then carefully removed him from the car. Once he got the victim stabilized, he and some shelter residents succeeded in putting out the fire.

The driver and his passenger were arrested and the driver was charged with felony drunk driving. As so often happens, when Gerald showed up in court, ready to testify, the driver pled guilty and was sentenced to jail.

• Richard Bennett, Jr. [ Top ]

Richard has always wanted to be a fireman. He and several others were taking a class in the basics of firefighting for the La Habra Heights Volunteer Fire Department. The class broke up and as Richard and his fellow students filed out into the parking lot., they saw two young men in a black Hyundai with its lights off and its engine running. Down along the rows of cars in the fire department lot, there was a lot of broken glass. That's because there were two other young men going through the lot and breaking into the volunteer firefighters' cars. The two auto burglars climbed in and the car took off, burning rubber.

Richard's car, which had not been broken into, was parked next to the firehouse. He jumped into his car and raced after them, honking his horn and flashing his lights in an effort to attract the attention of any patrol cars in the area.

It was a wild chase. The thieves, of course, realized that Richard was chasing them. At one point, they became so annoyed that they tried to run him off the road repeatedly.

Finally, their car hit a curb and stalled out. Richard screamed past, did a U-turn, and put his brights on their car. Richard got out of his car and ordered the suspects out of theirs. Amazingly enough, they did get out of the car. Unfortunately, they all ran in separate directions except the one with the gun. He pointed his weapon at Richard, who quickly ducked under his Jeep. But the man with the gun came toward him.

Richard's life passed before his eyes as the gunman came even with his car, still keeping our honoree in his gunsights. Then he ran past and into the night, and RichardÕs heart started beating again.

The police arrived, surrounded the area, and quickly arrested the thieves. Inside the black Hyundai were a number of stolen car stereos. Ultimately, the young gunman pled guilty and was sentenced to state prison.

John and Rick are plumbers, and were going to a job site in their van when they noticed another van swerving out of oncoming lanes directly toward them. Inside the other van, there was a big man struggling for control of the vehicle with the driver, a woman. The van swerved back into its lane, the driver's side door coming open as it passed our two honorees. They could hear the woman screaming.

Rick made a U-turn. By this time, the other van was slowing to a stop, shuddering forward, and almost stopping again as the two people inside fought for the wheel. John jumped out and ran toward the van, hoping to help the woman while Rick followed in their van.

Just as he reached the crazily jerking vehicle, the driver was thrown out. Rick says she hit the pavement so hard she bounced and John, only a few feet away, saw the rear wheel run over her before his eyes, barely missing her head.

The van sped off, with Rick in hot pursuit. John tried to shield the injured woman from the traffic racing by in both directions. He stayed with her, comforting her until an ambulance arrived.

Rick, meanwhile, followed the carjacker for mile after mile, until police could take over the pursuit. After a lengthy chase, police arrested the carjacker.

He may never have been caught, convicted and sent to prison if not for our two honorees