thedrifter
04-24-07, 07:43 PM
Sailors, Marine rush to aid of woman at mall
Service members honored after rescuing woman during alleged assault attempt
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 24, 2007 16:16:55 EDT
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — As they headed to the entrance of a local California mall, a woman’s cry for help grabbed their attention.
Marine Pfc. John Wise and Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Recruit Matthew Coston and three friends had just parked their car at Hanford Mall for a break from training April 7 at the nearby Naval Air Station in Lemoore, Calif.
Wise and Coston, along with Jesse Tuhy and Zach Snodgrass, both aviation structural mechanic airmen stationed at Lemoore, and their friend Kellie Green, planned to lunch and shop at the suburban mall in San Joaquin Valley.
It was high noon on a sunny Saturday, but the young men knew that something was terribly wrong. They saw a man attack a young woman in the parking lot.
“We looked up and saw the guy grab her,” recalled Coston, 19, of Fletcher, Texas.
The woman yelled again. “Help! Help!” The assailant grabbed her purse and then pulled at her pants.
Without thinking, they all ran to help her. “We were yelling at him to get off and walk away,” said Wise, an airframes mechanic from Winder, Ga. The man released the woman.
“We kind of put ourselves around him [and] between her,” Coston said. Their adrenaline was pumping, but they stayed cool and calm. They recovered her purse as Green grabbed hold of the woman and took her away from the assailant. The Marine and sailors faced off the man, who at over 6 feet tall was bigger than any of them.
The man was outnumbered, but he wouldn’t listen. “He turned around and slapped one of the sailors,” Wise said.
“He was like, yelling at us, ‘What are you going to do?’ ” Coston recalled.
They stood about a foot from the assailant, but no one slugged him even as he ranted and cursed at them. “We kept it civil. We didn’t want to have more problems,” Coston said.
Plus, added Wise, “we didn’t know if he had anything concealed on him.”
The assailant turned around and walked to his vehicle, a truck. Coston said he tossed the car keys to one of the sailors, who trailed the assailant out of the mall lot and onto city streets.
“I’ve been through worse,” said Coston, who said he once witnessed his friends’ shooting. “If I was in trouble, I’d want somebody to help me,” he said.
“The way I was brought up, you help them, you do not ignore,” added Wise.
Someone had notified mall security and Coston called police. Several miles away, police officers caught up with the assailant and arrested Clinton Calhoun, 31, who was charged with attempted rape, battery and robbery. Outside prosecutors will handle the case against Calhoun, whose father is the Kings County district attorney, has a 12-year criminal history and has pleaded not guilty to the new charges, according to the Hanford Sentinel. Calhoun’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for mid-May.
For their actions that day, the five rescuers each received a $1,000 gift certificate to shop in Hanford Mall, and the victim’s mother thanked them personally at the mall security office that day.
Ellie
Service members honored after rescuing woman during alleged assault attempt
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 24, 2007 16:16:55 EDT
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — As they headed to the entrance of a local California mall, a woman’s cry for help grabbed their attention.
Marine Pfc. John Wise and Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Recruit Matthew Coston and three friends had just parked their car at Hanford Mall for a break from training April 7 at the nearby Naval Air Station in Lemoore, Calif.
Wise and Coston, along with Jesse Tuhy and Zach Snodgrass, both aviation structural mechanic airmen stationed at Lemoore, and their friend Kellie Green, planned to lunch and shop at the suburban mall in San Joaquin Valley.
It was high noon on a sunny Saturday, but the young men knew that something was terribly wrong. They saw a man attack a young woman in the parking lot.
“We looked up and saw the guy grab her,” recalled Coston, 19, of Fletcher, Texas.
The woman yelled again. “Help! Help!” The assailant grabbed her purse and then pulled at her pants.
Without thinking, they all ran to help her. “We were yelling at him to get off and walk away,” said Wise, an airframes mechanic from Winder, Ga. The man released the woman.
“We kind of put ourselves around him [and] between her,” Coston said. Their adrenaline was pumping, but they stayed cool and calm. They recovered her purse as Green grabbed hold of the woman and took her away from the assailant. The Marine and sailors faced off the man, who at over 6 feet tall was bigger than any of them.
The man was outnumbered, but he wouldn’t listen. “He turned around and slapped one of the sailors,” Wise said.
“He was like, yelling at us, ‘What are you going to do?’ ” Coston recalled.
They stood about a foot from the assailant, but no one slugged him even as he ranted and cursed at them. “We kept it civil. We didn’t want to have more problems,” Coston said.
Plus, added Wise, “we didn’t know if he had anything concealed on him.”
The assailant turned around and walked to his vehicle, a truck. Coston said he tossed the car keys to one of the sailors, who trailed the assailant out of the mall lot and onto city streets.
“I’ve been through worse,” said Coston, who said he once witnessed his friends’ shooting. “If I was in trouble, I’d want somebody to help me,” he said.
“The way I was brought up, you help them, you do not ignore,” added Wise.
Someone had notified mall security and Coston called police. Several miles away, police officers caught up with the assailant and arrested Clinton Calhoun, 31, who was charged with attempted rape, battery and robbery. Outside prosecutors will handle the case against Calhoun, whose father is the Kings County district attorney, has a 12-year criminal history and has pleaded not guilty to the new charges, according to the Hanford Sentinel. Calhoun’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for mid-May.
For their actions that day, the five rescuers each received a $1,000 gift certificate to shop in Hanford Mall, and the victim’s mother thanked them personally at the mall security office that day.
Ellie