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Salem Father Called Hero For Tackling Drug Suspect

SALEM (CBS) -- 62-year old John Carr says his neighbors call him the "Mayor of River St." Now they'll be calling him the sheriff too.

Friday night, Carr noticed the flashing lights from a police cruiser whiz by.

Carr ran out of his house and noticed a suspicious man coming out of his neighbor's backyard. Carr said the man took off running down the street. That's when his adrenaline kicked in.

"I did think, 'Wow, I'm going to do a flying tackle? This is absurd!'" said Carr.

WBZ-TV's Alana Gomez reports.

With the help of neighbors, the 62-year-old lawyer pinned down 27-year-old Aquiles Sanchez.

Police had started chasing Sanchez earlier Friday night. Sanchez was allegedly spotted in the middle of a drug deal in front of a Salem pool hall. That's when officers say he tried to get away in a car, then left his car behind and ran into the neighborhood.

Carr says he picked the wrong street.

While he was pinned on the ground Sanchez tried to reason with Carr and his neighbors.

"He said, 'Let me up. I won't try to get away,'" said Carr.

The group let him stand, but then he tried to bolt again. That led to Carr's second tackle of the night. This time his son, Andrew, was right behind him.

"I see my dad and he's just pouncing on this guy, it's a true tackle," said Andrew Carr. "I catch up to him, I'm pinning his arm."

Police found them and arrested Sanchez.

The next day neighbors left a certificate of bravery for their hometown heroes and a kit with some plastic handcuffs and a fake badge.

"It made an otherwise boring night eventful," said Carr.

Carr says he never wondered what would've happened had Sanchez pulled out a weapon. He said he acted on instinct, and would do it again if he had to.

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