A North Carolina man is thanking a selfless bystander who helped him fight off a violent would-be phone thief while riding the local light rail, local news outlets reported.
The victim, who spoke with WSOCTV on the condition of anonymity, said another passenger on a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) train grabbed his phone before running out of the car at the Parkwood Light Rail Station on Monday afternoon.
Shocked by the broad-daylight robbery, the victim attempted to follow the suspect to get his device back.
“We both fell on the floor. He was trying to escape, and I was trying to hold him. I was screaming, screaming for help,” he recalled.
Good samaritan Michael Zytkow saw the commotion and decided to step in, calling 911 while wrestling the alleged thief to the ground.
“I was on the phone the whole time, and I was trying to plead with the situation to [calm] down,” Zytkow told the station. “And I was telling him to please give the phone back; I was trying to resolve this. I got them on the ground, and then I put them in a chokehold.”
The brave man was able to hold down the suspect until police arrived at the scene.
“I don’t think without Michael I would’ve survived. That guy was very violent,” the victim said.
The alleged thief was later identified as Darius Gilliard, who was taken into custody with a backpack containing other cell phones, police said, suggesting other victims.
Gilliard is currently in custody at the Mecklenburg County jail on common-law robbery charges.
“They probably need some more monitoring,” the victim said of CATS. “They need to have a dedicated person in every station, especially during peak hours like this.”
In response to a WSOC inquiry about the incident, transit officials said, “CATS uses a layered approach to secure the system.”
