Bystander catches suspect during police manhunt in Broyhill Crest

There was a huge police presence at the intersection of Bradley Circle and Larchmont Drive, with at least a dozen police cruisers, motorcycles, and a helicopter circling overhead. A resident had called the police to report a suspicious person and the police responded in force because of the recent burglaries.

Brygger at the fence the suspect jumped over.

Joe Brygger was installing new windows on the front of the house at 7051 Bradley Circle when he saw the police activity and went to the backyard to tell his partners.

In the backyard, Brygger saw police running after a guy, with no shirt and lots of tattoos. As he saw the man jump the fence, he heard an officer shout, “get that guy,” Brygger recalls. “He ran toward me. I kicked him in the leg. It threw him off balance. He tried to run. I tackled from the back and got him in a full nelson.” Brygger and his brother, Sonny, who was also working on the house, held the suspect down until the police got him.

Joe Brygger is 5’ 9,” and he says the suspect “was a lot bigger.” He heard that the police had been chasing the guy from Gallows Road.

The suspect ran from police because there is a misdemeanor warrant for him from another jurisdiction, said a spokesperson from the Fairfax County Police Department.

Murphy provided a few more details: He is wanted by the Culpeper police for “woodchuck” activities, which involves ripping off homeowners for fraudulent landscaping or home repairs. He was in the neighborhood visiting his girlfriend. Also, Murphy said, the suspect was white, not Hispanic as originally reported, and was not armed.

Murphy wants residents to call 911 if they see any suspicious individuals, as the burglars have not been caught. In many of these incidents, someone knocks loudly on the front door during daylight hours, and if no one answers, they break in a back door or window and take prescription drugs, jewelry, and cash.

This story was updated at 6 p.m., Nov. 13.