Sheriff honors resident for protecting neighbors

Lake County Sheriff Daniel Dunlap has awarded a commendation for heroism to a Painesville Township man who saved a woman and two children from being assaulted.

Thomas Jones, 64, protected his neighbor and her two children May 10 after she knocked on his door yelling for help. He brought them into his home and noticed the suspect running across the street charging toward him, according to the sheriff’s office.

The suspect allegedly attacked Jones on his porch as he attempted to gain entry into the home. Jones struggled with the man on his front

porch until deputies arrived on scene.

Prior to seeking shelter at Jones’ home, the neighbor told the sheriff’s office an unknown man had broken into her home by forcibly entering the rear door. The woman said the man chased her into her bedroom and then proceeded to lay down on the bedroom floor claiming someone was trying to kill him. The woman said she fled her home with her children—ages 5 and 7—and ran across the street to Jones’ home yelling for help.

In a Facebook post, Dunlap said he wanted to commend Jones “for his outstanding actions in protecting his neighbor and her two children, and for his willingness to put his safety on the line in protecting them by wrestling the attacker to the ground until deputies could arrive to help.”

The suspect was later identified as Bobby Collier, 30, of 107 E. Jackson Street in Painesville. Collier’s case has been bound over to the Lake County Common Pleas Court where he is facing two second-degree felony burglary charges and a pair of misdemeanor criminal damaging or endangering charges.

A judge has not yet been assigned to Collier’s case.

COURTESY OF THE LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE Thomas Jones, middle, of Painesville Township was honored June 1 by Lake County Sheriff Daniel Dunlap, right, for protecting a woman and her two children from a May 10 assault.