Texas mom tackles man accused of peeking in daughter’s bedroom

LAKE JACKSON, Texas — J.J. Watt would have been proud of this tackle.

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A woman in southern Texas made a crunching solo tackle of a man who was fleeing from her home last month, KPRC reported. The man is accused of looking into the bedroom window of Phyllis Pena’s 15-year-old daughter.

Pena, of Lake Jackson, was having none of it, even though her daughter was not home at the time.

“First instinct was just to make sure he didn’t go any further,” Pena told KPRC.

Pena said she had returned home from the store around 7 a.m. on Jan. 31 to find a man in her yard peeking into the window, the television station reported.

The man, later identified by Lake Jackson police as Zane Hawkins, 19, fled the scene and Pena called the police.

Officers responding to the scene found Hawkins nearby, but when the man tried to elude officers, Pena was ready. She cut off the man’s route of attack, wrapped her arms around his waist and slammed him to the road.

A clean tackle, which was caught on a police dashboard camera.

“The cop fist-bumped me and he was like, ‘Hey, so I heard the Texans are looking for a new linebacker,’” Pena told KPRC.

Hawkins was charged with possession of a controlled substance, evading arrest and resisting arrest, Lake Jackson police Sgt. Roy Welch told the television station. More charges could be added, Welch said.

“It’s not very often that we have somebody that actually steps in, puts themself in harm’s way to assist in apprehending somebody,” Welch said.

Pena said her kids knew about the suspect but did not know him personally.

“My kids are my life and just making sure I protect them,” Pena told KRPC.

Cox Media Group