By Elizabeth Evans
The York Dispatch
Copyright 2007 York Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
YORK, Pa. — Sure, they save people from burning buildings and rescue kittens from trees.
But four York City firefighters have added a new skill to their resumes: crime-fighting.
Firefighters William Collins and Todd Stough were returning from a fire call on Hamilton Avenue shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday when they saw a man inside a pickup truck parked near the fire station in the 200 block of West Market Street, according to Assistant Fire Chief Richard Saylor.
The pair knew the man was up to no good — because the pickup is owned by their comrade, volunteer firefighter William Duke, who was busy in Dover Township helping battle a massive blaze on West Canal Road.
“Firefighter Collins got out and asked the guy what he was doing,” Saylor said.
The man replied, “Oh, it’s a friend of mine’s truck,” according to the assistant chief.
But Collins was having none of it, saying, “No, the truck belongs to a friend of mine.”
As Stough and Collins called for police, Collins held the man by the arm, Saylor said.
Somehow, the man was able to wiggle free and took off with Duke’s digital camera, heading north on Newberry Street, Saylor said -- with Collins and Stough on his heels.
Surrounded
Unfortunately for the alleged thief, two other firefighters -- Bill Sleeger and Jeff Miller -- were coming directly toward him.
“It just so happened the other engine and truck at the same (Hamilton Avenue) call were coming down Newberry Street,” Saylor said. “They see the guy running ... and of course they were talking (to Collins and Stough) on the radio,” and knew what was going on.
Miller and Sleeger jumped out and apprehended the man near the intersection of Newberry Street and Mason Avenue, Saylor said.
This time, the man was unable to jerk free, he said.
York City Police Officer John Reisenweber arrived on scene and arrested Gerald Lee Clark, 37, of no fixed address, just before 8:30 p.m., according to police reports.
Clark remains in York County Prison on $20,000 bail, charged with theft and a Megan’s Law violation, a prison official said.
According to Pennsylvania State Police’s sexual-offender online registry, Clark was convicted of child molestation in 1997.
Happy ending: Duke got his camera back, according to Saylor, and his vehicle was not damaged.
“Supposedly, when officers arrested the guy, they asked him how it felt getting caught by a firefighter,” Saylor said with clear amusement.
The assistant chief said it’s not uncommon for firefighters’ private vehicles to be vandalized or broken into while parked near the station.
“We’ve had numerous incidents with our personal vehicles,” he said.
But catching someone in the act?
“That was just a stroke of luck,” Saylor said.