A man who assaulted an elderly woman in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil was caught in the late afternoon on Friday (1st of January). He was taken down and immobilized by a jiu-jitsu and muay thai fighter who was passing by, and saw the moment when the man fled with the pensioner’s purse 64 years. The robber was armed with a knife.
After stopping his car in the street, he took down the assailant and immobilised him for 20 minutes with his arms around the man’s neck. The fighter applied a rear naked choke. Several onlookers witnessed the scene and supported the fighter, before the arrival of police. He regained the old woman’s purse and returned it to her.
Hugo Gervais, 26, told Globo while still holding the suspect and awaiting the arrival of the Military Police (PM):
“I was driving and saw him assaulting a lady in the corner. He threw the woman on the floor, grabbed her purse and ran. I went into action”. I have been through many situations like this where I could not do anything. I know what I’m doing here,”
The 25-year old suspect was identified as Cacielino Rocha. He appears to have been previously arrested due to drug trafficking but was released. He declined to give a comment about the incident to the media. The eye witnesses, on the other hand, gladly talked about what they saw. They said that the suspect was carrying a knife was fortunately a non-factor in his apprehension. The suspect already confessed at the police station. The old lady is fine with only a bruise on her arm.
