Good Samaritan Jumps in Front of Car to Stop Alleged Grocery Store Thieves

A Saddle Brook man was being haled as a “good Samaritan” Friday after jumping in front of a car to stop a Franklin Lakes man and his accomplice from stealing a cart of groceries from an area A&P, NorthJersey.com reported.

According to the report, Robert Brooks, 49, noticed a man leaving the Saddle Brook A&P at about 8 p.m. Wednesday with a cart filled with items that weren’t bagged. When he saw an employee chasing after the men and shouting for them to stop, Brooks chased after the car, the report said.

When the man running out of the store, Philip Gannaway, 31, of Franklin Lakes, jumped into a getaway car being driven by Roy Ottino, 44, of Paterson, Brooks stepped in front of the car, the report said.

Ottino accelerated, and Brooks landed on the hood of his car, the report said. Brooks then grabbed onto the windshield wipers, and Ottino started swerving, it said.

According to the report, Brooks eventually fell from the car, but was not seriously injured. The employee snapped a photo of the car, and alerted police, who caught the duo half a mile down the road, crashed into a snow bank, the report said.

According to ABClocal.com, Brooks helped stop the pair from making off with $350 worth of groceries.

Gannaway and Ottino are being held in the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail, reports said.

Local police authorities commended Brooks, who told NorthJersey.com he was just acting according to instinct.

“Sometimes you gotta do something. A lot of people look away…I’m glad they got the guys,” he said.