Citizen's arrest

From GF Herald 01-25-07

By Susanne Nadeau, Herald Staff Writer

Published Thursday, January 25, 2007

A Grand Forks man tracked down and detained another man he believed stole his snowmobile early Wednesday in a south-end neighborhood.

Police don't encourage citizens to make their own arrests, but in this case it worked. Matthew Howard Walsh, 23, was carted off about 1:30 a.m. when police arrived on the scene. He was charged with possession of stolen property.

Apparently, police say, the snowmobile owner was awakened by a family member who heard something and suspected the sled was being taken. The snowmobile owner, who police declined to name, called police and then took a separate vehicle on a search for the snowmobile. He was able to follow the tracks left in a sprinkling of snow that fell over Grand Forks on Tuesday night.

He found Walsh, the suspected thief, and the snowmobile “disabled” in the street around the 5300 block of Chestnut, according to Grand Forks Police Lt. Jim Remer. The owner then held Walsh until police arrived, Remer said. He wouldn't say how the man detained Walsh.

“Obviously, a citizen should be very careful in a situation like this,” Remer said.

Gathering information for law enforcement is fine, but people should never put themselves in danger to retrieve stolen property. People have a “natural inclination to respond that way,” Remer said, but he's “definitely not recommending that they do.”

“We have had instances where a subject lashed out at the person confronting them,” Remer said.

Nadeau reports on public safety, crime and courts. Reach her at (701) 780-1118, (800) 477-6572, ext. 118; or snadeau@gfherald.com.

"He wouldn't say how the man detained Walsh."

If someone is out stealing another person's property, they should not complain about a little soreness when the police arrive.

Not that I would ever encourage any type of physical altercation but I do hope he was complaining about something.

More of this type of thing would help curb the crime rate.

Sure is better than crying to the police after watching your property disappear.