CHULA VISTA – Kirk Pfaff was waiting his turn for a teller's window yesterday when the yelling started.
Pfaff finished filling out the deposit slip before looking up to see a masked bandit barking orders.
PEGGY PEATTIE / Union-Tribune
"I walked out of there feeling pretty good," Kirk Pfaff, 47, said of his actions yesterday that stopped a man trying to rob a Bank of America branch in Chula Vista.
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"He was screaming, 'Gimme the fifties, gimme hundreds,' " Pfaff said.
In a flash, Pfaff snatched the robber in a headlock with his right arm and took him to the ground face first.
"I was holding him down on the ground and this little old lady came up and started kicking him the gut," said Pfaff, 47, a Chula Vista resident. "He was whining the whole time."
Minutes later police swarmed the Bank of America branch at Bonita and Otay Lakes roads. Pfaff released his grip and stepped away as officers handcuffed the robber.
William Thomas Panza, 53, of San Diego was jailed on suspicion of bank robbery, Chula Vista police Lt. Gary Ficacci said.
Ficacci praised Pfaff for "taking a bank robber off the street," but said it is dangerous for citizens to confront criminals.
"It was great because (Pfaff) didn't get hurt," he said. "It's certainly not something we recommend."
Pfaff's memory of the moments leading up to the attack were a little foggy, but he said he weighed the risks involved before acting. The bandit had his back to Pfaff and the other customers. When it was clear that he was not holding a weapon, Pfaff moved toward him.
"I wasn't a wrestler, and I don't go around apprehending bad guys in my spare time," he said. "I saw the opportunity to get this guy, and I made my decision."
Pfaff, who moved to Chula Vista a year ago from Illinois, said he was relieved that no one was hurt.
The bank tellers told him he was a hero.
"I walked out of there feeling pretty good," he said.
Brian Hazle: (619) 593-4952; brian.hazle@uniontrib.com
