Two suspected thieves got a taste of instant karma when they were confronted by a world karate champion outside his home. Dave Treadwell, 45, was roused from sleep when his wife Kelly, 47, noticed an alert from their Ring doorbell. The couple spotted two suspicious men lurking near their BMWs parked outside their Bishopston, Warks residence. Dave, a 6th Dan black belt and reigning World and European Champion, sprang into action, chasing the duo down the street.
The doorbell camera recorded the moment Dave sprinted after the suspects in the wee hours of Tuesday (15/4). The athletic father-of-two managed to catch one of the men, whom he held until the police arrived. Although initially, there wasn’t enough evidence for an arrest, the man was detained when it emerged that a warrant had been issued for an unrelated offence. Dave, who lives with Kelly and their two children aged 18 and 21, revealed that this was the second time in a week that potential thieves had targeted their family. He said: “We’ve got a Ring doorbell camera on the house along with a couple of other cameras.”
Recalling the first incident, he said: “Kelly heard the camera go off in the night last Thursday. She looked out the window and saw two men outside. One of them was parked in a car and the other was on the driveway with some type of equipment to break into the car. They ran off because I think they were startled by the lights coming on in the house.”
Dave recounted the harrowing ordeal when he confronted burglars in the dead of night, revealing: “The Ring doorbell camera alert went off again at around 3am and when Kelly looked out the window she saw someone outside.” He continued, “She woke me and told me what she’d seen and I just jumped up and legged it after them while she called police.”
Dave’s adrenaline surged as he described the chase, “You can see me on the camera sprinting out the house after them.” Despite losing sight of them momentarily, his persistence paid off, “I couldn’t see them because they’d shot down an alleyway so I followed and shouted at them.”
He then spotted the culprits, “I saw them both hiding in someone’s garden.” His determination was clear as he yelled, “I was still shouting that I wasn’t going anywhere so they might as well give themselves up.” The pursuit intensified, “They then ran out of a bush and I chased them again until I caught one of them. Drawing upon his martial arts expertise, Dave managed to subdue the suspect, “As his martial arts training kicked in, Dave was able to restrain the man who was struggling on the ground.” He explained his technique, “I was just trying to get the guy on the floor and restrain him.”
Dave detailed the struggle, “I used arm lock techniques to get his face away from me and his hands away from his pockets.” Despite the intruder’s complaints, “I obviously know what I’m doing and I did what I had to do. He was like, ‘listen, you’re holding me too tight’ so I loosened my grip but he got free.”
However, Dave was relentless, “He ran off again but I caught up with him pretty quickly and got him on the ground again. When law enforcement arrived, they praised Dave’s bravery, “When the police officers arrived they congratulated me on taking action.” Yet, the situation took a frustrating turn, “Unfortunately the man was pleading his innocence and the police officers said there was no proof there was an intention to commit a crime.
“Luckily when officers checked his name on their records it showed he was wanted for another offence so he was arrested anyway which was good. I don’t know whether he was up to mischief or whether it was linked to what happened a few days before, we don’t know for sure.”
Dave, who operates a karate club, cautioned other homeowners against emulating his brave actions. He stated: “Hopefully I’ve got somebody off the streets that was potentially doing something wrong. The police can’t do everything, and it’s nice for people to be aware of that, and show that there are people out there that care about the community. It was my natural instinct to go after them, but that’s something that I’m trained to do – to restrain.
“The first thing I teach to all my students is, if somebody’s got a weapon, you turn and run. Someone could easily be carrying a knife or needle. It’s not worth the risk to try and stop them.”
A spokesperson for Warwickshire Police said: “We received a call at 3.24am on Tuesday in relation to an attempted car theft. A man was initially arrested for an unrelated matter.”