
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 6, 1994                   TAG: 9410060047
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KEVIN DAVIS FORT LAUDERDALE SUN-SENTINEL
DATELINE: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. NOTE: BELOW                                 LENGTH: Medium

PARAPLEGIC HELPS NAB 2 ROBBERY SUSPECTS

WHEN RONALD BEAUDREAULT heard a woman screaming and crying that her purse was stolen, he knew what he had to do. He put his fence stick to the pedal and pursued the alleged bandits.

For Ronald Beaudreault, driving a car without the use of his legs is hard enough.

But that did not stop Beaudreault, a paraplegic, from chasing down two robbery suspects in his older model Toyota and helping police catch them.

Beaudreault pursued the suspects using one hand to steer and the other to hold a stick on the gas pedal as he weaved through heavy traffic. His diligence helped police capture the two men at a downtown intersection.

``That took a lot of courage,'' Officer Rodrick McGowan, who arrested the suspects, said on Tuesday. ``The way he handled it was very good.''

Beaudreault, 33, said he was glad he could help.

``I didn't expect anything out of it. I'm just glad justice prevailed.''

Beaudreault, who suffered a spinal-cord injury in a car wreck 15 years ago, does his best to operate his older model Toyota using a wooden stick to work the gas and brake pedals.

He said he cannot afford to outfit the car with special equipment, and said he tore the stick off a fence.

Beaudreault was in his car at 5:20 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of a Winn-Dixie grocery store when he saw a man slip into Nicole Tremblay's car outside a liquor store where she works.

As Tremblay sat in her car, the man grabbed her purse from the passenger seat, then ran to a waiting car, which sped away.

Beaudreault followed.

``It just upset me. This lady was screaming and crying and it got to me,'' he said.

Beaudreault tailed the fleeing suspects, then passed them.

Meanwhile, Officer McGowan and partner Franklin Foulks were driving when they saw Beaudreault's car stopped in an intersection.

``He was yelling from across the street,'' McGowan said. ``It was hard to hear him so I drove closer and he pointed to a car three cars behind him.''

Then the light turned green and Beaudreault positioned his car to block anyone from moving.

Beaudreault pointed out the suspects to the officers, who arrested them before they could run off.

Charged in the robbery were Ernest Johnson, 41, and David Coleman, 31, both of Fort Lauderdale.

Tremblay was driven to the scene and identified Johnson as the man who snatched her purse. She also had a chance to thank Beaudreault.

``He's just incredible,'' Tremblay said. ``I really feel lucky. I really do.''

by CNB