MONTGOMERY: Scouts to rescue; chase thief on trip to Key West

By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
   MONTGOMERY— When the Montgomery Boy Scouts in Troop 850 headed to the Key West, Fla., on June 23 for their high adventure trip, they never thought they would be helping the police catch a thief.
   Yet that’s what they did when they chased a suspected thief on their bicycles, pursuing him until the police arrived to make the arrest.
   The 11 scouts and six adults were just finishing up their ‘cheeseburgers in paradise’ at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritville restaurant when they decided to see the Key West sights on their rented bicycles.
   However, they ended up biking into a commotion on Duval Street, where they heard Adriano Furlan, a foreign tourist, shouting he had just been robbed of his wallet and iPhone. The scouts then saw a man, barefoot and shirtless, knock down Mr. Furlan’s entire family in the process of sprinting away.
   For Troop 850, there was only one option.
   ”The father of the family started yelling ‘stop him, he robbed me’ and I said, ‘okay boys, let’s go’ so we took off after him,” said Barry Weigmann, one of the troop’s scoutmasters. “The scouts take an oath to help people at all times – that doesn’t mean sitting on the sidelines and making a cell phone call.”
   The group pursued him to the Banyon House, a bed and breakfast, where he hopped the fence into the backyard area. That was when they first called 911 after realizing no one from the community had called the police.
   Mr. Weigmann said four minutes later the suspect emerged, accusing the troop of assault. Around this time, a woman approached them with the stolen wallet, which the suspect had dropped under a car during the chase.
   Mr. Weigmann said the man kept denying he took the iPhone and then took off again, causing the group to ride after him for another five blocks. Throughout the pursuit, Mr. Weigmann had 911 on his cell phone to update the police on the suspect’s position, until the police arrived.
   Troop Leader Tim Spring also videotaped the whole chase as evidence to show the police.
   When the Key West police showed up, everyone gave statements and Mr. Furlan gave a positive identification of the suspect, ultimately resulting in an arrest.
   Jason Norwood, 38, was charged with larceny and grand theft and was taken to the Monroe County jail with no bond.
   Mr. Weigmann and a group of boys went back to the Banyon House, where Wesley, one of the scouts, spotted the stolen iPhone in the bushes. They quickly called the police, who arrived to do a fingerprint check, which positively linked back to Mr. Norwood.
   Because the scouts are juveniles, it was requested by the scoutmaster that their last names not be used.
   The scoutmaster said Mr. Furlan, who was vacationing in the Keys with his family, was ecstatic and very thankful that strangers had come to his aid.
   ”I don’t know how to thank those heroes, I just know that I learned what it is to meet friendly and honest people while traveling abroad,” said Mr. Furlan. “They helped turn what could have been a ruined vacation into the opposite: a very positive and inspiring experience.”
   Mr. Weigmann said when the theft went down, no one else made an attempt to call the police.
   ”I have always preached to the boys that we need to get involved, we can’t just be bystanders and that’s how things are solved today,” said Mr. Weigmann. “In this situation, a single cell phone call wouldn’t have helped because the person was running and his location was changing. By the scouts following and keeping tabs on him, we were able to report back to the police so they could catch up.”
   For Senior Patrol Leader Rohan, 14, the experience was an eye opener.
   ”It was a good learning experience. I realized not a lot of people start to help nowadays,” he said. “If we didn’t go, I think the suspect would have gotten away because of the lack of support from the community.”
   When asked if it was scary to chase a potentially dangerous suspect, Kyle, 15, said not really because he had no shoes, was in a bathing suit and didn’t have anything on him.
   ”Not many people can say they caught a criminal, it’s something out of the ordinary,” he said. “We helped keep Key West safer.”
   Peggy Haykal, Kyle’s mother, said she was proud of her son and Troop 850.
   ”They stuck together as a group and followed the oath to help others at all times,” said Ms. Haykal. “They say their oaths, but you never know if it sticks in their minds – but apparently it did.”
   But the heroic deeds didn’t stop there.
   When the boys went on a fishing boat trip, Ryan, one of the scouts, saved his father by performing the Heimlich maneuver on him after he began choking on a sandwich.
   ”He saved his dad out in the middle of the ocean, we were miles out ands away from any major land areas,” said Kyle. “The captain didn’t know what to do, so Ryan did the Heimlich.”
   Saving lives and nabbing thieves are just in a day’s work for the scouts, who continued to enjoy their time in the Keys.
   Although they haven’t received any rewards, the scouts didn’t come home empty handed. They left their mark on Key West, created unforgettable memories and earned their title as “local heroes.”