Abington Man Makes ‘Citizen’s Arrest’ at Gunpoint

An Abington Avenue man stopped a man who he thought was breaking into his neighbor’s car … by holding him at gunpoint.

According to Abington Deputy Chief John Livingood, a resident in the 500 block of Abington Avenue saw someone enter his neighbor’s vehicle, a black Honda, on Sunday at about 11:30 p.m. The resident, armed with a handgun, then confronted the man.

Livingood said the Abington Avenue resident asked the person in the Honda, later identified as a 28-year-old Roslyn man, what he was doing. The man said he was dropping off money for a friend of his. When the resident wasn’t happy with the Roslyn man’s answer, the resident pulled a handgun and ordered the man to the ground until police arrived.

Livingood said the Abington Avenue resident’s gun was legally owned.

When police arrived, the Roslyn man said he was in the wrong block and said that his friend also has a black Honda. Police confirmed this, but, as it turns out, the “other” black Honda contained a medium, Ziploc bag of suspected marijuana, Livingood said, adding that the Roslyn man was likely looking to purchase drugs.

The Roslyn man was issued a non-traffic citation.

On the “citizen’s arrest,” Livingood said he doesn’t recommend it.

“This incident could have gone in a completely different direction,” Livingood said, “and could have had a very different ending.”