PEABODY - George Medeiros can chuckle about what he did to restrain a Lynn man who allegedly broke into his mother's home Christmas Eve, but just talking about the experience makes his heart race.
Medeiros, 61, and his brother, John, 57, were on the floor under the kitchen table struggling to restrain a burglar whom they'd found hiding under their mother's bed minutes before. Fearing the man might try to get away, Medeiros did what he had to do: He "pantsed" the burglar - underwear and all - down to his ankles.
"I figured it would slow him down if he got up to run," the retired postal worker said.
Medeiros, who owns the house at 12 Sanborn St., lives upstairs and his mom lives on the first floor. John Medeiros lives in Holland, next to Sturbridge, and was visiting for Christmas.
The brothers noticed something askew when they returned home at 4:45 p.m. after seeing a movie at the Liberty Tree Mall. A vase, which usually sits on the window sill, was out on the porch, the first sign something wasn't right.
The Medeiroses' mom, Stasia, was away visiting their aunt, who also lives in Peabody.
Medeiros, 61, and his brother, John, 57, were on the floor under the kitchen table struggling to restrain a burglar whom they'd found hiding under their mother's bed minutes before. Fearing the man might try to get away, Medeiros did what he had to do: He "pantsed" the burglar - underwear and all - down to his ankles.
"I figured it would slow him down if he got up to run," the retired postal worker said.
Medeiros, who owns the house at 12 Sanborn St., lives upstairs and his mom lives on the first floor. John Medeiros lives in Holland, next to Sturbridge, and was visiting for Christmas.
The brothers noticed something askew when they returned home at 4:45 p.m. after seeing a movie at the Liberty Tree Mall. A vase, which usually sits on the window sill, was out on the porch, the first sign something wasn't right.
The Medeiroses' mom, Stasia, was away visiting their aunt, who also lives in Peabody.
"I unlocked her kitchen door into her apartment and we sensed someone in the house," Medeiros said yesterday. "So I said, 'Is that you, Mom?'"
There was no answer. The brothers walked one in front of the other to their mom's bedroom and saw a shadow going underneath their mom's bed. The rocking chair in the room moved and Michael saw black high top sneakers under the bed.
"John, I think someone's in the house," George Medeiros said to his brother.
They lifted the bed and the intruder got up and asked if Jose was there, Medeiros said.
"My brother says, 'Call 911,' and he whacked my brother with a lamp on the side of the head," Medeiros said.
A struggle ensued and the brothers tried to restrain the man - identified by police as Leroy Arthur Wallace, 46, of 79 Clarendon St., Lynn.
"Everything is going all over the place. We had him on the floor. He was still struggling," Medeiros said.
Once in the kitchen - just a few steps from the bedroom - Medeiros managed to make a quick call to police while his brother had control of the burglar.
Once off the phone, George rejoined his brother and wanted to act quickly to restrain the man. Now that the police were on their way, Medeiros figured Wallace had extra incentive to try to escape.
That's when he pulled down Wallace's pants, Medeiros said.
He said police chuckled when he told them what he'd done.
"It's lucky the brothers subdued him and they called us right away," said Peabody police Sgt. Glen Fredericks.
When officers arrived, they handcuffed Wallace and charged him with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a lamp), armed burglary and malicious destruction of property more than $250. He will be arraigned in Peabody District Court today.
The Medeiros brothers are grateful their mom - who is in her late 80s - wasn't home at the time. Neither George Medeiros nor his mom nor brother knows Wallace or why their home was targeted.
"If she was home by herself, I don't know what would have happened," he said.
He wants other elderly residents in the area to be cautious and make sure all windows and doors are locked. He said the burglar got into the house through an unlocked window.
None of the men needed medical treatment. The brothers suffered cuts and bruises, but both are OK. They made it through Christmas together, although the holiday was marred by the violation, Medeiros said.
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