Caught on video: Jiu Jitsu instructor stops thief
Surveillance video shows a man punching an employee – and within a flash, jiu jitsu instructor Idriz Redzovic jumps in. CBS 2’s Jermont Terry reports.
Idriz Redzovic, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and owner of Supreme Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Chicago, just happened to be in the right place, at the right time.
The incident happened at the 7-Eleven at 1532 W. Lawrence Ave., just east of Ashland Avenue in the Ravenswood community.
At 10:15 p.m. Thursday, June 16, police said the suspected thief entered the 7-Eleven and proceeded to take food items and try to walk off without paying. The 19-year-old store clerk did not approach the thief at the time, police said.
But the same man entered the 7-Eleven again soon afterward and was asked to leave – at which point he punched the clerk, police said.
“I feel like it’s my duty as a human on this plant to help another human in danger,” Redzovic said. “It could’ve gone two ways. The employee could have took him down also and pounded his face and beat him up.”
The suspect was not harmed and no chokes were applied. The jiu jitsu instructor in Redzovic merely tied the perp up until law enforcement officials arrived.
Christopher Cruz, 30, was arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count each of battery and retail theft. Redzovic hopes the suspected thief learned something too.
“If he sees this, this could be a wake-up call for the man to change his life around,” he said.
