Leonard Grey
Leonard Grey (Madison County Metro Jail)
An attempted robbery was thwarted by a local TV reporter just after midnight Thursday.
Police confirmed to AL.com that Vincent Crivelli, a reporter with 48 WAFF, stopped an attempted robbery in the Kroger parking lot on Oakwood Avenue.
Lt. Darryl Lawson with the Huntsville Police Department said Misty Suwarow, a Kroger manager, was walking to her car when Leonard Grey, 59, approached her and asked for money. Suwarow, who was in her car, refused and Grey opened the door and jumped on top of her.
Crivelli told AL.com he was at the Kroger to buy strawberries and apples after work when he heard a honking car horn and a woman screaming. He thought it was a domestic dispute until he got closer.
"It didn't look like it was a domestic dispute," Crivelli said. "It looked like it was much more, and she was screaming for help."
Crivelli said he pulled Grey out of the car by putting him into a headlock and held him down until the police arrived approximately 10 minutes later.
When the police pulled up, Crivelli said, Grey reached for something in his pocket.
"For the first time in the whole incident, I was scared," Crivelli said. "'He's got a knife. He's got a knife,' That's what I was thinking."
Grey pulled out something from his pocket, but that's when police intervened and arrested Grey, Crivelli said.
Police at the scene told Crivelli the item was a crack pipe.
While Crivelli was holding Grey someone recognized him asked him if he was on television.
"Yeah, Channel 48 News, we investigate," Crivelli said in reply.
Crivelli said he does not think he deserves any recognition.
"At the end of the day, I think that I did what any man should have" Crivelli said. "While maybe the majority of the population doesn't have that same mindset, that doesn't mean I did anything great. I just did what I should have done."
Grey was charged with third-degree robbery and is being held at the Madison County Metro Jail. Grey was convicted of attempted sexual battery in 1998, and is a registered sex offender.