SHERIFF'S AWARD-WINNER : BOY FOILS BURGLARY, HELPS YOUNGER SIBLINGS TO SAFETY.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem and Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writers It had all the makings of a kids' adventure film: the boy outsmarting the bad guys, escaping with his little brother and sister, and helping the cops make the arrests. For 11-year-old Robert Nathanson the drama was real, and Thursday he was honored as a hero by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County's top cop, Sheriff Sherman Block. ``What's this award I'm getting?'' a nonplused non·plus tr.v. non·plused also non·plussed, non·plus·ing also non·plus·sing, non·plus·es also non·plus·ses To put at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; bewilder. n. Robert asked Robert Aske could refer too:
It was a short time before noon April 8 - the first day of spring break - and Robert was baby-sitting his 9-year-old sister, Ashley, and 4-1/2-year-old brother, Jared. His father had taken his mother to a medical appointment, leaving explicit instructions not to open the door to anyone. The young trio was playing inside, building forts out of blankets, when they heard someone at the door, knocking . . . and knocking . . . and knocking. ``My dad told us not to open the door, but they kept knocking,'' Robert said. ``I decided to go to my bedroom because there's a window there where I can see who's at the door.'' As he was walking down the hallway, Robert saw a man cutting through a window pane A rectangular area within an on-screen window that contains information for the user. A window may have many panes. See menu pane. . ``I said really quietly, `Come on. We need to get out the back door,' '' Robert said. ``I opened the door as fast as I could and we went to the side gate. I lifted my brother over the fence, and Ashley and I hopped it.'' The children crept by the truck they saw parked in front of their house, a man sitting in the driver's seat driv·er's seat n. A position of control or authority. . They ran to the house next door where new neighbors had just moved in. ``Their grandma was there and I said, `I'm sorry to bother you, but someone is trying to break in our house. May I use your phone?' '' Sheriff's deputies were there within minutes. Romeo Tubon, 25, still sitting in the truck, was arrested without incident, and after a short pursuit into a dry riverbed near the house, the second suspect, Baltimore Bunuan, 24, was also in custody. Both men were charged with burglary and are awaiting trial. Within minutes Shar and Steve Nathanson came home, shocked to find squad cars in front of their house and scared for their children. They were greeted with the news that their son was a hero. ``He told us later that he always had a plan in his head to go out the back door and over the side fence if someone broke in,'' Robert's mother said. Investigators found about $8,000 worth of the family's belongings belongings Noun, pl the things that a person owns or has with him or her Noun 1. belongings - something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone; "that hat is my property"; "he is a man of stacked by the front door, apparently ready to be loaded into the truck, said sheriff's spokesman George Ducoulombier. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (Color) Robert Nathanson was hailed as a hero for pr otecting his younger siblings siblings npl (formal) → frères et sœurs mpl (de mêmes parents) during a burglary attempt. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion