Daily London
Along with his two sons, tradie Dean Bathurst kept the wanted man in a citizen’s arrest for 30 minutes, unaware he had allegedly held a woman at gunpoint and indecently assaulted her while stealing her car hours earlier.
The takedown was caught on camera just after 7am on Tuesday when a stranger was spotted in Dean’s car in Bindoon, about 70 kilometres north of Perth.
The 57-year-old jumped into action wearing nothing but his underwear
“It was probably a good 10-minute wrestle around on the ground, trying to get him in a position where we could stop him from hurting us, or hurting him, or running away,” Dean said.
His two sons were close behind.
“I saw the dogs going berserk and then I saw my brother and my Dad and I thought, ‘Oh, what’s going on here’,” son Grayson Bathurst said.
“Then I saw this guy lying down on the ground and so, just natural instinct, rushed in to help.”
The accused had been spotted by the builder’s 10-year-old daughter allegedly pulling down wires from under the steering wheel.
“You know, you got the fight or flight. I’ve got a strong fight,” Dean said.
“It was like, you’re not taking my car.”
The trio restrained the man for half an hour in what Dean described as an “endurance test” as police came from Toodyay, a 50-kilometre drive away.
“I’m 120 kilos, so he wasn’t moving as I lied across his legs and his lower back, and just tried to hold out,” son Brooklyn Bathurst said.
Police allege a crime spree started about 3.30am on Tuesday when the man hijacked a car in south-east Perth as a woman was reversing out of her Gosnells driveway.
He allegedly forced his way into the vehicle, indecently assaulting the woman and making threats while holding what appeared to be a firearm.
He allegedly drove an hour north to Bindoon, dumping that car, breaking into a home, and stealing another vehicle.
After the takedown, the 31-year-old Brabham man was taken into police custody and charged with a raft of offences including armed robbery, deprivation of liberty, unlawful and indecent assault and stealing two vehicles.
He was denied bail at Armadale Magistrates Court this afternoon.
The Bathursts won’t forget the early morning takedown any time soon.
“I might actually go to bed dressed a bit better than my SpongeBob jocks from now on,” Dean said.
“Good thing I wasn’t wearing my Superman jocks, because that could have been a completely different situation.
“But fully expect to be made into a meme after this.”
