Dan ‘Arm Hunter’ Camarillo holds a 2nd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and a 4th degree black belt in Judo. Fighting is very much in his DNA – Dan’s father, Jim, was the founder and head of the Bakersfield, Calif.-based South Valley Judo Club, and started training Dan when he was four.
Dan runs Camarillo Jiu-Jitsu on 811 19th Street in Bakersfield, CA. His academy is know for producing champions, for producing good people. And it is not a good place to be spotted, if you are a suspect, running the scene of a high speed chase and crash.
Wednesday night at about 8:30 p.m. PT Dan heard a loud crashing noise in front of his academy. He went outside to investigate, and witnesses told him the suspect had slammed into a truck, and was running away.
A good citizen, Camarillo ran in pursuit.
“I decided to chase him down,” Camarillo told local ABC affiliate News 23. “He ran out of gas at the corner of the block, I put him in a hold but he started kind of resisting.”
“I grabbed him here and hold this arm tight, and he started to say, no no no.”
A striking based martial artist who determined he had to use his skills would at this point have to bludgeon the suspect to overcome resistance. However, Camarillo is a profoundly skilled grappler, and was able to handle the matter with no harm to anyone.
The BJJ player and Judo took the suspect to the ground and pinned him.
“He rolled and I put my weight on him, and i just sat on him pulling his arm tight,” said Camarillio.”
Moments later, the instructor took the suspect to the ground.
Police have booked the suspect on multiple felony charges.
And Camarillo offers some wise words about martial arts.
“I always tell everybody you never know when your going to need it,” he explained.