Fourteen-year-old Ramon says he was just trying to help a man in his 70s mugged in a park in Chinatown over the weekend.

He didn't plan on running one of the robbers down, or wrestling him to the ground and trading punches and holding him until police arrived. Or becoming a hero in front of his dad on Father's Day.

"I don’t know what was going through my mind," Ramon said Wednesday. "I was scared. It was one of those things where you do something without thinking.

"I just kinda of felt bad for the guy," the Cicero teen added. "What if it was my grandfather that was attacked?"

Ramon suffered some cuts under his eyes and scraped his elbows but otherwise survived the ordeal that began as a quiet Sunday evening with his dad Ramon Sr. and his 13-year-old brother Andres in Ping Tom Memorial Park.


18-year old thug, Daquan Barfield

The Tribune learned of the incident through police reports. The newspaper is identifying the boy by his first name only out of concern for his safety.

Ramon said he spotted two men following an older man who was walking by himself, carrying a bag, near the park at Wentworth Avenue and 19th Street.

"I said, 'Hey pops, I think they’re going to try to rob that old man over there,' " Ramon said.

Ramon, who just graduated from 8th grade, said the older man was walking between two cars when the two suddenly flanked him. "They both pulled him down, and I saw one of them grab him and the other guy pushed him back. I heard him scream, so we started running towards him."

One of the robbers went through the man's pockets while the other held him down, the boy said. Ramon said he and his dad and brother started running toward the man.

“We kept running but I stopped and thought, 'But what if they had a gun or something?' Then I saw them run away,’’ Ramon said.

When they reached the older man near an alley, the boys' father told them to check around to see if the robbers had dropped anything. "Me and my brother ran over to see if he dropped the wallet," Ramon said.

As they headed down the alley, the boys heard the clank of a fence and Ramon spotted one of the robbers trying to climb over it.

“I ran towards him and I grabbed him and pulled him back,’’ Ramon said. “He turned around all fast and he just swung at me and hit me a couple of times in the face.’’

While his instinct told him not to hit back, Ramon said he thought about the victim and became angry. "I grabbed him by my hands, and when he started hitting me in the ribs I thought, 'Oh well, who cares,' and I started to fight."

As he wrestled with the robber, Ramon's brother stood close by and watched in case the second robber came back.

Ramon said he shouted at his brother to get their father, who then called police. Officers got to the scene and told him, 'Good job,' " the boy said.

Daquan Barfield, 18, was taken into custody and charged with felony robbery. He outweighs the boy by about 30 pounds and is about 5 inches taller.

The victim, who lives in the area, is 74 years old and was not badly injured, according to police. He didn't get his money back because the other robber managed to escape with it, but Ramon said he was still grateful.

“He kept grabbing my hand and bowing down,’’ the teen said.

Police offered to take Ramon to the hospital, but he declined. When he looked at his face later in the mirror, he noticed he was cut under both eyes and his elbows were bleeding.

His father said he didn't expect his boys to chase down a robber, but only suggested they look for the victim’s wallet while he looked after the man.

“I said, 'Go, go. They took this wallet. I didn’t expect them to do a marathon run after them,’’ he said, chuckling. “I did not expect my kids to run half way down the alley and scuffle with the guy."

Ramon Sr., a warehouse worker, began to tear up.

“It was the best Father’s Day ever," he said. "My boys will always be my heroes."


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-boy-14-nabs-mugger-he-just-swung-at-me-and-hit-me-20120620,0,3556386.story