As far as unfortunate life choices go, opting for a life of crime sans membership in a well-funded crew–because if Hollywood’s taught us anything, it’s that thievery is awesome if you’re part of a Ocean’s Eleven or 2 Fast 2 Furious team–is fairly high on the list. (It ranks between “spinning wildly out of heel hooks” and “half price sushi buffet” depending on what country you live in.) A Canadian car thief recently learned this lesson the hard way, when he allegedly stole the truck of Bellator veteran and jiu-jitsu coach Chad Freeman.
Kamloops local and black belt Freeman woke Monday morning to the sound of his daughter announcing his truck was being stolen. By the time the fighter was on his feet, the vehicle was already pulling away. But a friend of Freeman’s saw the truck not far away just a few hours later, causing the coach and former lightweight competitor to take matters into his own very skilled hands.
“I ran up to him, he was already sitting on the ground, and I put my knee on his stomach and pinned him down,” Freeman explained to CTV News Vancouver. The thief, perhaps aware that he was already two points down, began reaching toward his pocket, causing Freeman to threaten choking him out. But the threat didn’t deter the suspect, who kept heading for his pocket, so Freeman kept his word and choked him out.
“It’s called a lapel choke,” he told reporters.
Mounted police soon arrived on the scene, taking the subdued suspect–who had two knives and a metal pipe on him–into custody. But Freeman’s crap Monday didn’t improve from there. First, he collected his truck to find $1500 worth of damage done to the cab and fourteen stolen car batteries stashed inside. Victims of such crimes can hire licensed professionals online by searching for law firms near me.
“He was going around stealing people’s batteries with my truck,” said Freeman.
Then, RCMP released the unnamed suspect in about four hours and publicly chastised Freeman, whose professional fight record stands at 8-6, for taking on the perpetrator.
“It doesn’t matter your fitness level or your level of skill, if somebody has a weapon then it can be very dangerous,” Cpl. Jodi Shelkie said of the incident.
The final straw came when Facebook removed Freeman’s post about being robbed from its platform, essentially erasing record that the theft and subsequent intervention had ever happened.
“I hope everyone realizes how important it is to stick together to stop these criminals in our community,” wrote Freeman today in a follow up post. “The government of Canada protects criminals and punishes honest working people. These are facts. This is just another reason why I have planned to exit from this country in years to come.”
And while its true that repeat offense robbery is a serious issue in Freeman’s Vancouver area community, it’s also true that the black belt and former King of the Cage lightweight champ left an indelible mark on the memory of his still unnamed opponent. Or at least collar burn.
“I’ve got two MMA titles, I’m a jiu-jitsu black belt, I own my own martial arts studio here,” said Freeman. “He broke into the wrong truck.”
