A full day of fishing on the Octoraro Reservoir behind them, two pals pulled their 18-foot bass boat into the parking lot at Red Rose Commons.
They headed for the food line at their favorite spot, Old Country Buffet.
But before they could tuck into their meals, one of them spotted through the window a young man outside weaving his purple mountain bike in and out of cars.
He was peeking inside each.
"I looked at my buddy and said, 'Man, he's up to no good,'" recalled one of the fishermen today, a 38-year-old drywaller from Lititz who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation.
But could anybody be that bold?
It was broad daylight.
It was Saturday, around dinnertime.
The parking lot was jam-packed at the popular Fruitville Pike eatery.
Yes, the fisherman's instincts were right.
Just then the suspicious character — a Lancaster man police later identified as 21-year-old Carlos Vazquez-Galarza — took the ceramic end of a spark plug, a device known by police and criminals as a "sparkie," and smashed the window of a Plymouth Voyager minivan.
"It broke quicker than if you would have thrown a pinball at the window," the fisherman remembers. "It just went boom! The whole thing shattered."
The alleged thief then reached in the minivan and grabbed a small canvas bag. He emptied it right there in the parking lot, near PetSmart, police said, only to find it was full of cosmetics — not cash. So he threw it back and went on his way looking for another victim.
That's when the Lititz fisherman did something few would dare to do these days.
He dropped his plate of food, told his friend to dial 911 — and sprinted out the door in pursuit of the thief, sparking a chase that would eventually involve six citizens.
"I hightailed after him," he said. "He was just riding off real gradual. When I got to him, he was ready to break into another car. I got him by the sleeve, and he took off."
The pursuit caused quite a scene outside The Home Depot.
"I was yelling and screaming. I yelled for these people to use their cell phone and call 911. I talked to dispatch," he said. "He rode across the parking lot."
Meantime, another diner at the Old Country Buffet hopped into his own car and tried to follow the suspect. But even as two witnesses now trailed him, Vazquez-Galarza paused in the parking lot of the hardware superstore and was seen breaking into a second vehicle, a 2005 GMC Sierra truck. He climbed in through the window, the witnesses told police.
"He didn't care. I don't know if he was on drugs or what. It was broad daylight and he didn't care," said the fisherman.
Eventually, two more witnesses in cars corralled Vazquez-Galarza near the Fruitville Pike entrance to the shopping center. One of the witnesses knocked the suspect off his bike, and then joined the other in tackling him and holding him down until police arrived.
The cops found Vazquez-Galarza carrying a Garmin GPS unit valued at $560, a cigarette lighter and a set of keys — all belonging to the owner of the GMC truck. At the police station, he admitted breaking into the two vehicles, according to police records.
Vazquez-Galarza, of 230 W. Mifflin St., is charged with two counts each of theft from a motor vehicle; possession of instruments of crime; and criminal mischief.
His arrest marked the second time in four days that alert citizens helped capture an alleged thief. Last Tuesday, a Hershey Avenue woman who had been grocery shopping at the Manor Shopping Center spotted a man walking out of the store with a woman's purse — and called 911 with a full description of the man.
He was nabbed minutes later.
Police commend such actions but warn of potential dangers.
"We encourage witnesses to call the police and try and keep the suspect in view while we're responding," said Sgt. Jarrad Berkihiser of the city police department.
"I'd caution them in trying to apprehend the suspect, just for their own personal safety."
Staff writer Tom Murse can be reached at tmurse@LNPnews.com or 481-6021.
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