A north Phoenix burglary victim will not be denied justice as he directed a police helicopter to the suspect.
Court records show that on November 29, a man chased down a woman seen burglarizing his car and waves down a police helicopter for assistance.
Police report that a husband and wife were coming out of Claim Jumper restaurant near 31st Avenue and Beardsley Road when they saw a woman in front of their car.
Mike Mielnicki says he and his wife finished dinner at Claim Jumper restaurant near 31st Avenue and Beardsley Road when they saw a woman in front of their car. As the woman walked away, Mielnicki says they found their SUV ransacked and he knew it was the woman they'd just seen but she was already gone.
hen he ran back into the restaurant to ask employees to contact police, they told him a woman just ran into the restroom. Police say he went toward the bathroom as she ran out. He nearly caught her as she was running out of the restaurant, so Mielnicki did too.
"She just robbed from me, I wasn't going to let her get away with it." he said.
The man continued to chase her and as the woman was running she dropped items that belonged to them. He lost site of her as she entered the canal area, north of the restaurant. Not to be denied, the victim waved down a police helicopter flying overhead and pointed them in the direction of the suspect.
"I'm thinking, 'Man, that would be cool if this helicopter was involved,'" he said. "Then this flood light comes down on me."
It was Phoenix Firebird thanks to the 911 calls at the restaurant where his wife was speaking with police. He says two unmarked police cars and a few patrol cars followed as he pointed the chopper down the canal in the direction of the suspect.
The suspect, 21-year-old Jennifer Rachelle Lord, began knocking on random doors at an apartment complex nearby. Police say they located her in one of the apartments.
She was identified by the victims and was found to be in possession some of their money, taken from the car. Lord denied being in the car and asked for an attorney.
She has been charged with burglary.
