Not in This Town: Heroes Step in To Thwart Carjacking

Editor's note: Salty language is included in this story.

Avon Lake is not one of those towns one expects a carjacking. Shoplifting, maybe. But not a carjacking.

So when a man,who just pleaded guilty to a drug-related charge it was no surprise the carjacking was thwarted by strangers who stepped up to help.

Bryan Schiffbauer, 23, had been picked up earlier in the day Dec. 8 in Cleveland by Avon police on an outstanding warrant from the Avon Lake Municipal Court. After pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge, Schiffbauer walked to just before noon and police say he tried to carjack an SUV from an Avon Lake woman after telling her he had a gun.

He didn’t get far.

Two men, Ron Cherni, 76, of Avon Lake and Brian Williams, 40, of Barberton, helped drag the man out of the car and with the help of nearby construction workers, and held him until police arrived.

Both men recalled the incident, albeit slightly differently.

Cherni said he was at the station getting gas when he heard a woman screaming, “Help, help, he’s trying to hijack my car.”

“He was in the driver’s seat with his hands on the steering wheel,” Cherni said.

The longtime Avon Laker said the woman was screaming “Get out of my car,” but blocking access to the alleged carjacker. He said he ran around to the passenger’s side, opened the door and dragged the man out.

 “I said, ‘You son of a bitch,’” Cherni said. “I put my hands on his throat and grabbed him by his Adam’s apple, pulled him out and threw him on the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“I had him pretty good. I jumped on him and gave him the knee in his back and the other construction worker came over to help.”

Brian Williams, of Empaco Construction of Richfield also heard the screams of the woman and helped out.

“We were working pouring concrete and some lady was screaming,” Williams said. “She was yelling, ‘help, help.’ Ron was on passenger side. I grabbed (Schiffbauer) and pulled him back to the ground and dragged him behind the vehicle. I put my knee in the side of his ear. He was squirming.”

The police report only specified that "they" dragged the man out of the car.

No one was hurt in the incident.

The woman who owns the SUV, who asked not to have her name published, said she was fine and had this message to the men who stepped up:

“I just want to thank everyone who helped out,” she said.

Schiffbauer got a ride after all -- to the Lorain County Jail. He is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in and may face felony charges.