Good Samaritan uses mixed martial arts to take down California arsonist who scorched acres with road flares, police say

A California man utilized mixed martial arts maneuvers to take down an arsonist who scorched several acres in the San Francisco Bay area, according to police.

On Saturday, a resident of Vallejo reportedly noticed a man lighting road flares in a field near his home. The flares caused a fire that scorched 15 acres until firefighters were able to quell the blaze.

The good Samaritan, Alex Bello, notified local police about the man who was allegedly setting fires near a residential area. Bello followed the suspect and asked the dispatcher whether he "would feel comfortable if I could take him down." The dispatcher allegedly gave Bello the approval to restrain the suspect.

The Vallejo Police Department noted, "The citizen followed the arsonist as he ran across the street and entered a black Tesla parked on the 900 block of Admiral Callaghan Lane. Before the arsonist could drive away, the brave citizen contacted the arsonist and removed him from the vehicle. The arsonist knew he was in trouble and quickly learned he was being detained by a trained mixed martial artist who introduced him to a double armbar."

The suspect allegedly retaliated and bit Bello. The man asked Bello to let him go, and he replied, "Dude, I'm not going to let you go. It's not my job. My job is to hold you down until the police get here."

"I had one hand on both of his, enough pressure for me to hold him down but not to hurt him. With all these things going on, I didn't want to get in any trouble," Bello said – making a reference to the situation of Daniel Penny, who was charged with homicide after allegedly putting a New York City subway passenger in a deadly chokehold.

Bello said, "When I felt like I had him secured, I used the other hand to pat him down, and that’s when I found a crack pipe on him."

Bello reportedly wrapped the suspect up like a "pretzel" until police arrived.

The purported arsonist was arrested by officers with the Vallejo Police Department. Police said the Tesla was stolen from Fremont, and there were more flares inside the vehicle.

Police said cameras caught the suspect setting fires.

The Vallejo Police Department stated, "Thank you to the vigilant community member that stepped into action and helped prevent an arsonist from destroying our community!"

Bello told Fox News, "It was not a bravery thing, it was more of a 'We're on our phones a lot, and we’re used to recording instead of acting upon,' and I was with my kids and the mother of my kids, and I talked to her and I told her I got to get involved. It was right behind my house, so it was something I had to do."

Good Samaritan uses martial arts to take down Bay Area arson suspectwww.youtube.com

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