Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 31, 1994 TAG: 9405310090
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: CHESTER (AP) LENGTH: Medium
"I believe if we know a crime is happening we have a responsibility to stand up and do something," said Pridgen, a day-care provider and mother of three. "I wanted to show the kids that we weren't going to run away from crime."
Pridgen and her three children actually followed crime on a bitter cold January night.
What started out as a dinner run to the McDonald's drive-through window ended with Pridgen and her family becoming robbery foilers.
Around 8:30 p.m. Jan. 21, Pridgen and her three children, Derrick, 13, Deborah, 11, and Kristina, 10, pulled up in the family van to the drive-through order board at a McDonald's in northern Chesterfield County.
"We were waiting to order, and we saw this young man wearing a McDonald's uniform come running out of the building and jump over a fence," said Pridgen, a Chester resident. "Then a minute later, we heard the young lady over the speaker saying, `Call the police. We're being robbed.' "
Inside the restaurant, a gunman had locked employees in a walk-in cooler, but several employees still had their drive-through radio headsets on and were able to communicate with Pridgen.
Pridgen put the van in reverse and left the parking lot. She tried to drive to a pay phone but got caught at the light in front of the restaurant.
"All of a sudden, this man came running out of the restaurant with a bag and jumped in a car, and I just knew it was the robber," Pridgen said.
A former bank teller who had been trained to remember as many details of robbers as possible, Pridgen instructed her children to pay attention to what he looked like.
"It was obvious that the man hadn't seen us . . . and I told my kids that we were going to follow A former bank teller who had been trained to remember as many details of robbers as possible, Pridgen instructed her children to pay attention to what he looked like. Adrenaline pumping, the Pridgens trailed the suspect into a nearby subdivision, getting his license number in the process. him and get his license plate number," she said.
The Pridgen clan was several cars back from the suspect.
"I didn't feel we were in any danger," Pridgen said.
Her children were less sure.
"I was scared," said Derrick. "I figured if the guy was robbing the store he probably would have a gun."
Deborah agreed.
"I was kind of scared because I thought he might try to shoot at us," she said.
Adrenaline pumping, the Pridgens trailed the suspect into a nearby subdivision, getting his license number in the process.
"Derrick wrote it on his hand because we didn't have anything else to write on," Pridgen said.
The Pridgens returned to McDonald's. Meanwhile, police had descended upon the area and called in a helicopter. Using the license plate number and car description provided by the Pridgens, police arrested the suspect at a nearby convenience store about 45 minutes later.
Benjamin Arroyo, 24, was charged with robbery. He later confessed to a string of at least 10 fast-food restaurant robberies "up and down I-95," according to Chesterfield Police Detective E.W. Hazzard, who investigated the case.
"If it hadn't been for her and her family, we never would have got him that night," Hazzard said of the Pridgens.
Arroyo is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to the Jan. 21 robbery and to the Jan. 9 holdup of another McDonald's in Chesterfield County. He also has been prosecuted or is awaiting prosecution on charges in other Virginia localities and out of state.
McDonald's showed its appreciation to the Pridgens last week by awarding the family about $2,400 worth of company stock. The money is intended to help with college educations.
"What Mrs. Pridgen and her children did was absolutely incredible," said Bill Barnes, president of the Richmond Area McDonald`s Co/Op. "This is an example of citizens going beyond the call of duty to help fight crime. Without their levelheaded assistance, this gunman would probably still be at large and would probably still be robbing people."
Pridgen said a financial incentive had nothing to do with her actions.
"It's amazing," she said of the stock gift. "But I would've done it anyway."
by CNB