PITTSBURG, Kan. — A Pittsburg woman is making headlines after she chased down a man who was stealing items from her car in Lawrence, Kansas.

After a brief chase, she tackled the thief and put him in a leglock until he agreed to retrieve her belongings.

“I remember aiming to tackle him and push him into the grass as a cushion for him, because I'm a nice woman like that,” she told The Morning Sun.

Per her request, the woman will be identified as Renee. She is currently completing an apprenticeship in Lawrence.

Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, May 24, Renee said, she was awake playing video games when she heard a commotion outside her apartment. She peeked out the window, saw her car dome light was on and that someone was moving inside the vehicle.

When she stepped outside and yelled, the man took off running with some of her belongings. She chased him barefoot down the block to a dead end where he had parked an electric scooter.

“I remember jump-lunging at him, and like going for the tackle,” Renee said. “And then the next thing I remember is that my legs are wrapped around him in a lock, and then I've got him by the collar.”

Then Renee made him help her gather her possessions, which the man had scattered during the chase. After telling her a “sob story” of why he was stealing from her, she said, the man then proceeded to hit on her as they retrieved the $49 and a flashlight he took from her car.

Once they found her possessions, she told him to “get the @#&! out of here” and called the police.

Lawrence Police Communications Manager Laura McCabe said Renee was able to provide a detailed description of the man and his clothing, and officers located the suspect not far away from the scene. Upon apprehension, the suspect also had items in a backpack that were not his.

Even though Renee was able to get her possessions back from the burglar, she was right to still call the police, McCabe said. Her actions led to an apprehension, she said, and other people’s items can potentially be returned to the owners.

“Although it was very brave of her, it is not what we recommend,” McCabe told The Morning Sun. “I'm glad that this time it turned out OK, but we would prefer that people don't chase down criminals or suspects on their own, and that they call us. That's why we're here, and we want to be there to help. Most times, if someone is willing to commit a criminal act, they have some sort of weapon on them, be it a knife or something more dangerous than that. So, she was fortunate, and I'm glad she got her stuff back.”

Renee admits it may not have been the best choice to chase and tackle a criminal, but at the time all she saw was red.

“It was stupid, but I'm really happy that it worked out for me,” Renee said.

Since Sunday, Renee has been interviewed by a radio station and has two different television stations requesting interviews.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.