Tulsa Couple Arrested After Trying To Make Citizen's Arrest

Police arrested a couple for assault with a dangerous weapon after officers said the pair tried to make a citizens' arrest but got the wrong people.

Police said two juveniles in a car were honking at a house in a nearby neighborhood.

A couple living in that area thought they were being threatened, and took matters into their own hands.

Police said Maria Peterson and her boyfriend Evaristo Nunez believed the two teenagers were the ones who stole from them about a month earlier, and had come back to taunt them by honking their horn outside the house.

Original Story - Attempt At Citizen's Arrest Lands Tulsa Couple In Jail, Police Say

"They decided to take matters into their own hands. They did call police, but they started following these juveniles," Tulsa Police Major Tracie Lewis said.

Officers said Peterson and Nunez chased the teenager in two different cars, ending up in a parking lot near TIA.

Lewis said it took a little bit for officers to catch up to them.

"They got impatient and ended up ramming these juveniles vehicle, and then detained them until patrol officers arrived," Lewis said.

When officers got there, police said they learned the teens weren't honking at the couples house and weren't connected to the recent theft. The couple were actually in the wrong.

"So by taking the matter into their own hands, they ended up committing a crime, and they ended up going to jail," Lewis said.

She said this could have ended much worse, especially if the teenagers had felt as if their lives were in danger, and acted in self defense. Lewis said it's why you should call 911 and let police do their job.

"That's why we spend 10 months training before we're out in a car by ourselves, because there's a lot to learn, and we don't want people to get hurt over property," Lewis said. "Nothing more serious escalated, but it seriously could have been really bad."

All of the cars involved were damaged, but no one was hurt.