Talk About Picking The Wrong Car To Steal

Talk About Picking The Wrong Car To Steal

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Story Published: Sep 15, 2005 at 2:19 AM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 2:04 AM PDT

By George Howell

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SEATTLE - One man's unconventional way of curbing car theft in his Queen Anne neighborhood is winning him a lot of applause. Ken Cavallon literally caught one of the suspected prowlers in the act, and has the photo to prove it.

It all started early Tuesday morning when Ken's wife noticed three people outside their home trying to break into her husband's truck.

She went back inside to tell him about what she saw and Ken said he didn't hesitate. "I realized, enough is enough, so I came flying up the hill."

The youth football coach immediately ran toward the thief's getaway vehicle and grabbed one of the men inside.

"The window was down just a little bit, so I ripped the window out, it shatters all over the ground," Ken said. "I try to pull him out of the car and the seat belt gets in the way, so I open up the car door, and as the guy's driving the get away car away, I yank him out of the car, throw him to the ground, pick him up, slam him on the hood of my truck, and just held him there."

Ken's neighbor, Thomas Oates, said that is indeed what happened. Oates ran outside when he heard all of the noise. "Ken took the window out of the car, and reached in, and yanked the little puke out of the window of a moving car," he said. "It was unreal."

"I had to yell at (the thief) at one point, and I said, 'dude, I'm three times your weight, and twice your strength, so don't even try,' " Ken added.

The story may sound unbelievable, but Thomas snapped a picture - the proof that Ken Cavallon caught the suspected car thief in a hold he learned in the military.

He didn't let him go until police arrived. He said Seattle police officers gladly took the 20 year old off his hands, but they don't recommend taking such matters into your own hands.

"Running outside, and taking on multiple suspects, I would advise against," said Seattle Police Officer Rich Pruitt. "In this case, it did work out, and he was able to catch one of the bad guys."

Ken hopes that what he did will make a difference in his neighborhood that, as of late, has been plagued with car prowls.

"They seem to think this is easy pickin's, and we're just not going to let it be easy pickin's anymore," Ken said.

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