Teh One Who Knocks
08-15-2013, 10:59 AM
By Brett Clarkson, Sun Sentinel
http://i.imgur.com/Tol2aRP.jpg
An innocent man driving home in Royal Palm Beach on Tuesday night found himself in a dangerous confrontation with two would-be vigilantes who mistakenly suspected him of breaking into a car, deputies said.
Now, Connie Kalish and Anthony Perez find themselves in jail, not the man they chased with a bat and tried to run down, after wrongly accusing him of burglarizing Kalish's vehicle.
According to Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest reports, Kalish, 46, of Royal Palm Beach, and Perez, 21, of Wellington, confronted a man on Santa Monica Court at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
They thought he was the one who broke into Kalish's vehicle in the nearby 100 block of Miramar Avenue in the La Mancha development, deputies said.
It turned out the victim had nothing to do with vehicle break-in.
"He was an innocent victim going home after being at his friend's house," a deputy wrote in the arrest report.
Still, Perez and Kalish had apparently convicted the man.
They blocked his vehicle, deputies said. Perez got out of his car and carried a baseball bat over his head while approaching the man, according to the arrest reports.
The victim backed up his car. Perez "continued to pursue" and Kalish chased the victim with her car, deputies said.
Perez caught up with the victim's car. He threatened the man with the bat. The victim got out of his car, leaving it running.
The man told deputies that Kalish sped up in her car "in an attempt to run him down," arrest reports said.
The man hid in some nearby bushes and called 911.
According to witnesses, Kalish got into the man's car and took his keys and wallet.
She then handed those items over to other witnesses who weren't identified in the police reports, deputies said.
Asked by a deputy why she chased the man, Kalish allegedly responded with, "you guys never catch anybody or do anything about it."
"It was later determined that (the victim) was neither involved in or had anything to do with Connie's vehicle," the arrest reports said.
The man's identity was not made available in arrest reports obtained from the Palm Beach County courthouse.
Kalish faces charges of burglary and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Her bail was set at $40,000, and she remained in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail on Wednesday.
Perez faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, false imprisonment. His bail was set at $50,000, and he also remained in custody.
Neither Kalish nor Perez have a prior arrest in Florida, according to records.
http://i.imgur.com/Tol2aRP.jpg
An innocent man driving home in Royal Palm Beach on Tuesday night found himself in a dangerous confrontation with two would-be vigilantes who mistakenly suspected him of breaking into a car, deputies said.
Now, Connie Kalish and Anthony Perez find themselves in jail, not the man they chased with a bat and tried to run down, after wrongly accusing him of burglarizing Kalish's vehicle.
According to Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest reports, Kalish, 46, of Royal Palm Beach, and Perez, 21, of Wellington, confronted a man on Santa Monica Court at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
They thought he was the one who broke into Kalish's vehicle in the nearby 100 block of Miramar Avenue in the La Mancha development, deputies said.
It turned out the victim had nothing to do with vehicle break-in.
"He was an innocent victim going home after being at his friend's house," a deputy wrote in the arrest report.
Still, Perez and Kalish had apparently convicted the man.
They blocked his vehicle, deputies said. Perez got out of his car and carried a baseball bat over his head while approaching the man, according to the arrest reports.
The victim backed up his car. Perez "continued to pursue" and Kalish chased the victim with her car, deputies said.
Perez caught up with the victim's car. He threatened the man with the bat. The victim got out of his car, leaving it running.
The man told deputies that Kalish sped up in her car "in an attempt to run him down," arrest reports said.
The man hid in some nearby bushes and called 911.
According to witnesses, Kalish got into the man's car and took his keys and wallet.
She then handed those items over to other witnesses who weren't identified in the police reports, deputies said.
Asked by a deputy why she chased the man, Kalish allegedly responded with, "you guys never catch anybody or do anything about it."
"It was later determined that (the victim) was neither involved in or had anything to do with Connie's vehicle," the arrest reports said.
The man's identity was not made available in arrest reports obtained from the Palm Beach County courthouse.
Kalish faces charges of burglary and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Her bail was set at $40,000, and she remained in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail on Wednesday.
Perez faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, false imprisonment. His bail was set at $50,000, and he also remained in custody.
Neither Kalish nor Perez have a prior arrest in Florida, according to records.