CAPE CORAL, Fla — It wasn’t Gotham City, but on a dark night in Cape Coral, police say a man in Batman pajamas took down a burglar in his neighbor’s garage.
Fox 4’s Austin Schargorodski sent out the Bat-Signal to track down Kyle Myvett.
Watch to hear from Kyle Myvett on how he took down the burglar:
It happened around two in the morning in a neighborhood near Santa Barbara and 29th Terrace. Myvett says he was asleep when his wife - his own sidekick, Robin - spotted an alert on their security cameras.
“She’s like hey someone is rummaging through your truck,” Myvett said.
Myvett said he knew he had to harness his inner Bruce Wayne. But by the time he got outside, the man was gone. So he hopped in his truck… not his Batmobile… and started his own neighborhood patrol. Then, he noticed something odd at his neighbor’s house.
“So I called him and said hey, your garage is open and my truck was just broken into, so I’m going to sit outside until you guys secure your garage,” Myvett explained.
And that’s when he says he spotted someone suspicious inside. So, Myvett said he quietly snuck around back.
“Without the person seeing me, I grabbed a hold of their shirt and right wrist and told him listen, don’t try to get away, I have plenty of experience with this,” Myvett said.
With his background in corrections, Myvett says he kept the suspect calm until police arrived. But he admits he had a little extra armor on.
“I’m really glad I had my Batman pajamas on because that gave me the extra confidence I needed,” he said.
Police identified the man as 20-year-old Justin Schimpl. They say Schimpl also broke into the neighbor’s car and stole two pairs of Ray-Ban sunglasses, cash, a wristlet, and some gift cards.
“He was taken into custody, he was arrested and charged, he’s facing multiple charges today thanks to Kyle and his Batman pajamas,” said Lisa Greenberg with the Cape Coral Police Department.
And like the comics say, the Dark Knight will rise again… when he’s needed. “We want to do as much as we can for the community, and hopefully others will start being better at being better,” said Myvett.
