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New Bedford 10-year-old credited with helping in arrest

E-mail|Link|Comments () May 5, 2009 05:40 PM

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A 10-year-old New Bedford boy is being praised by police for his role in the arrest of a man who allegedly stole a GPS unit from a pizza shop deliveryman's truck.

Christopher Coache was out skateboarding on Worcester Street on April 26 when he saw someone smash the window in the delivery truck and grab the GPS. The boy, who lives nearby, called his father on a cellphone and called 911, police announced today.

"He did what we ask people to do all the time: Be a good witness and not become another victim," said Lieutenant Jeffrey Silva, a spokesman for the New Bedford Police.

Coache's father ran to the scene and confronted the thief who then fled and was tracked down by police with the help of about a half-dozen neighbors. Christopher Strouse, 25, of New Bedford, is facing felony theft and property damage charges, Silva said. There is no listing for a Christopher Strouse in the city phone book.

Silva plans to go to Coache's elementary school Thursday to give him an award.

"It speaks volumes to his character that when the going got tough, he got going and did the right thing," said Silva. "It was a very great thing. It exhibits not only courage, but great citizenship."