A quick-thinking dad in nothing but his SpongeBob SquarePants underwear has been hailed a hero after taking down an alleged car thief outside his home in Western Australia.
Dean Bathurst, 57, sprinted from his Bindoon home — around 70km from Perth — after his 10-year-old daughter reportedly saw a man pulling wires from his car early Tuesday morning.
“It was probably a good 10-minute wrestle around on the ground, trying to get him in a position where we could stop him from hurting us, or hurting him, or running away,” Bathurst told 9News. “You know, you got the fight or flight. I’ve got a strong fight.”
Wearing only his bright yellow SpongeBob “jocks,” Bathurst managed to pin the man down until his sons, Grayson and Brooklyn, joined in to help. Together, they held the suspect for nearly half an hour until police arrived.
Brooklyn, who weighs 120 kilos, said restraining the man wasn’t easy. “He wasn’t moving as I lay across his legs and lower back, and just tried to hold out,” he said.
After officers took the man into custody, Bathurst joked about his unexpected nighttime attire. “I might actually go to bed dressed a bit better than my SpongeBob jocks from now on,” he said. “Good thing I wasn’t wearing my Superman jocks — that could’ve been a completely different situation.”
Authorities later revealed the 31-year-old suspect had allegedly been on a crime spree since 3:30 a.m. that morning. Police say he first targeted a woman reversing from her driveway in Gosnells, where he allegedly forced his way into her car, threatened her with a weapon, and indecently assaulted her before driving off.
He’s then accused of breaking into another home, stealing a second vehicle, and eventually ending up at the Bathurst family’s property, where his run came to an end.
The man has been charged with multiple serious offences including armed robbery, aggravated home burglary, indecent assault, and carrying a prohibited weapon.
