talking bout that street justice

Hero Bartenders
Saturday, March 01, 2008 7:50:13 AM
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Lisa Bell, Central Floridian of the Week


Bartenders Roger Lay, Eric Foster and Brian Cannon were getting off work around 3 a.m. one morning, when they heard a scream coming from a nearby parking garage that would forever change their lives.

"We all looked at each other, and were like, 'We should go and check that out,'" Foster said.

The trio were leaving their job at the Matador bar in Downtown Orlando, and raced for the garage.

"We ran towards the screaming, and when we got upstairs, we saw a kind of crazy-looking guy, like a rapist holding a girl down, trying to get his clothes either off or on, and tried to run past us, and the girl was like, 'This guy's attacking us! Help, help!' and we just kind of took it from there," Foster explained.

"We ended up grabbing him when he came out the elevator, and he [Foster] was on the phone with police," Cannon said.

The bartenders continued to hold the suspect until police arrived. They were later told the alleged rapist was out on probation, and was a multiple offender.

The three recently received the Good Citizenship Award from the Orlando Police Department.

"To catch someone like that, it felt good to get him off the street," Cannon said.

That is why Roger Lay, Eric Foster and Brian Cannon are our Central Floridians of the Week.