Video footage captured the moment a thief was scooped up and slammed to the ground by a jiu-jitsu expert after he tried to make off with a handbag.
Lucas de Pádua Villegas, 39, said he had just dropped his mother off outside a shop when he overheard someone shouting ‘Catch the thief!’.
Springing into action, Lucas jogged across the road, where he saw the thief running towards him.
CCTV footage shows how Lucas then scooped up the suspect and slammed him back-first onto the pavement in a jiu-jitsu move.
He then placed the thief’s knee on his chest, immobilised his arms and pinned him to the ground with his legs as another man prised a bag from his grip.
The incident happened on a street in Caraguatatuba, Brazil, on Saturday, January 11.
Lucas de Pádua Villegas, 39, sprang into action when he heard someone shout ‘Catch the thief’ – pictured is Lucas waiting for the thief to run towards him
Lucas de Pádua Villegas slammed the thief to the ground with his jiu-jitsu moves
Lucas told local media: ‘I parked my car at the corner and was crossing the street to go with her because she’s elderly.
‘As I was on the other pavement, I heard someone shout, ‘Catch the thief!’
Villegas said he hid behind his car and emerged as the suspect was fleeing towards him.
‘He put his hand on his waist, pretending he had a weapon, but since his clothes were so tight, I could tell he wasn’t carrying anything,’ Lucas added.
‘That’s when I went for a double leg takedown and brought him to the ground.
‘He said he was going to kill me, and then a guy came from my right and reached for his bag.
‘When he did that, I thought he must be an accomplice. I thought, ‘This guy’s going to pull out a weapon and kill me.
‘That’s when I yanked his arm to the other side and locked it down. I thought, ‘He’s not going to move this arm again.’
Villegas has been practising martial arts since he was a boy.
Lucas immobilised his arms and pinned him to the ground with his legs as another man prised a bag from his grip
He began with taekwondo in 1998, later took up karate and Muay Thai, and finally settled on Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Villegas told local media: ‘We train for all kinds of situations at the gym. If someone puts their hand on their waist, we know what to do.
‘If they raise their hands, we know how to respond. For every situation, we have a specific move.
‘In this case, the double leg takedown felt like the best option. At first, I thought about throwing a punch, but he was too quick.
‘I might have missed, and he could have gotten away. So I went for the double leg and took him down straight away.’
The 27-year-old subdued by Villegas was taken under police custody to an urgent treatment centre, where he received medical help.
He was later taken to the police station and remanded into custody on suspicion of robbing jewellers, as reported by NeedToKnow.
Officers seized a machete, several jewellery pieces and two mobile phones from his rucksack.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
