Police: Neighbors stop crime in progress


Neighbors in the Jacksonville's Westside stopped a crime in progress early Monday morning.

A 17-year-old boy is in custody of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office after neighbors held him until police arrived.

Neighbors told Action News Jacksonville  the teenager tried to steal a vehicle overnight in their neighborhood, which is less than half a mile from Thomas Jefferson Elementary School.

JSO said neighbors held the teen at gunpoint, when they caught him and called 911.

Neighbor Keith Leister said, “We told him to stop. He didn't want to stop; he just wanted to keep walking. He said ‘I would rather for y'all to shoot me than for me to go to jail.’ I said ‘Well, you’re going to jail tonight partner.’"

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