After Seeing Alleged 'Peeping Tom' Outside Daughter's Window, Texas Mom Tackles Man On Street
BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) — She says she saw a man peeping through her daughter's bedroom window and that's when a Texas mother sprung into action.
A police dashcam caught the moment mom Phyllis Pena tackled the man who was allegedly outside looking at her 15-year-old daughter.
"I figured at least I could do, if I got him down, tripped him up, whatever, then they'd have a chance to get caught up," Pena said. "First instinct was to just make sure he didn't go any further."
According to the Lake Jackson Police Department, officers were called to the home on the morning of January 31 after getting a report of "a suspicious male in the area that had looked inside a window of a house."
Officers in the neighborhood found a man matching the description but say he tried to run away when he saw them.
The suspect, later identified as 19-year-old Zane Hawkins, turned and ended up running straight toward Pena, who moved in and made the tackle. Her daughter then ran over and helped hold down the suspect until officers caught up.
Lake Jackson police Sgt. Roy Welch said, "It's not very often that we have somebody that actually steps in, puts themself in harm's way to assist in apprehending somebody."
Pena said she was just making sure she was doing everything she could to protect her kids. After the suspect was taken into custody officers told the mom that she'd made a 'pretty good tackle.'
Pena was able to laugh about what happened later and recalled that, "The cop fist bumped me and he was like, 'Hey, so I heard the Texans are looking for a new linebacker.'"
Hawkins was booked into jail and is facing charges including possession of a controlled substance, evading arrest, and resisting arrest.
