Number 7 Dennis Nicholl In March of 2016, a Chicago man was arrested
for using a jammer to illegally suppress cellphone signals on the subway, during his commute.
63-year-old Dennis Nicholl, whom some media outlets dubbed the “silent vigilante”,
worked as a financial analyst at the University of Illinois Hospital.
He would later claim that he’d bought the jammer, which blocked cellphone signals in
its vicinity, as he’d been desperate for a quieter commute.
Nicholl was exposed by IT worker Brain Raida, aged 30, who posted a picture of him on Reddit
as he was actively using the jammer.
Such devices are illegal to buy or use because they can shut off police radios and block
emergency calls.
They were initially developed by the military to disrupt surrounding communications during
negotiations or hostage crises.
The photo of Nicholl quickly circulated online and caught the attention of law enforcement.
Members of the Chicago Police Department, CTA and the Federal Communications Commission
set up an undercover sting operation, on March the 8th of 2016.
Nicholl was taken into custody on felony charges.
According to updates on his case, he’d managed to avoid jail time and was given a deferred
sentence after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges for using an illegal device.
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Number 6 Nick Cross A vigilante from Geelong, Australia, was charged
with the murder of a 29-year-old woman, in December of 2018.
Nick Cross was known in the community for starting a vigilante group, in 2016, after
a group of teenagers had tried to break into his home while he hid inside with his daughter.
Others in the community joined his initiative and Cross claimed, at one point, to have 260
residents patrolling the streets with him.
The group’s activities gradually diminished following pressure by the authorities for
citizens not to take the law into their own hands.
In late 2018, Cross had no fixed address and had reportedly developed an addiction to crystal
methamphetamine and heroin.
The 31-year-old was arrested along with Todd Daryl Sell and Tracey Menzies, both aged 34,
at a house in Sydney’s west, where they’d reportedly been staying for less than 24 hours.
The trio were taken into custody by police in tactical gear, a few days after the charred
remains of Maddison Parrott had been found at the Geelong Showgrounds, on the outskirts
of the Victorian town.
The 29-year-old woman had been living in a glamping-style tent following the recent breakup
of her marriage.
The motives and circumstances of her killing remained unclear.
Cross was accused of shooting her in the head at a different location, then moving the body
to the tent and setting it ablaze.
Sell and Menzies were charged with accessory to murder after the fact.
A sentence for Cross hasn’t been pronounced but during a hearing at Geelong Magistrates'
Court, he violently lashed out at the officers present in the courtroom, gave them the middle
finger and claimed that the state’s police “takes kids”.
Number 5 Nestora Salgado In 2013, US woman Nestora Salgado, from the
Seattle suburb of Renton, was arrested and detained in her birth state of Guerrero, Mexico,
on criminal charges in connection to her vigilante group.
After building a life in Washington, the woman would periodically return to her hometown
of Olinalá and help those in need.
Indigenous communities such as Salgado’s were allowed, under state law, to form their
own vigilante groups.
The woman, then in her late 30s, and others sprang into action after a local taxi driver
was killed for refusing to pay protection to a drug cartel.
The community police of Olinalá was founded in response, of which Salgado became a commander.
The armed organization patrolled the area and reportedly sought to protect the rights
of indigenous inhabitants as well as to keep them safe from cartel violence and government
corruption.
Salgado was detained by the army in August of 2013, along with several others in the
community police, on charges of kidnapping and organized crime.
The main focus was the community police’s detainment of three teenage girls suspected
of dealing cocaine as well as that of a well-connected town official accused of doing the narcos’
bidding.
Salgado was imprisoned without a trial for two and half years, during which she was denied
proper access to attorneys or adequate medical care.
She eventually went on a hunger strike that brought international attention to her plight.
Salgado was released in March of 2016, after a judge considered there was a lack of evidence
to support the accusations brought against her.
Number 4 Christopher Hughes On February the 5th of 2021, an Australian
woman died after she was struck by a vehicle, driven by a vigilante, while riding her motorbike
in Townsville. 22-year-old fitness enthusiast Jennifer Board, who aspired to become a Queensland
police officer, was travelling along Ross River Road.
Simultaneously, Christopher Hughes was in pursuit of a stolen Hyundai ix35.
The 25-year-old was described as a known vigilante whose “sole focus in life”, as court documents
indicated, was hunting down car thieves.
He was driving a Holden Statesman, which was also occupied by his girlfriend and a friend,
both of whom were live streaming him chasing down the Hyundai on Facebook.
Hughes was allegedly going over 70 mph when he tried to ram into his target car and lost
control of the Statesman.
The vehicle became airborne and spun into the path of Board’s motorcycle, in the opposite
lane.
A devastating collision occurred, resulting in the young woman’s death.
Hughes, whose license had been suspended or disqualified 10 times since 2012, was charged
with her murder, in December of 2021, and his case is ongoing.
Number 3 Bernhard Goetz Amidst the rising crime rates characteristic
of New York City in the 1980s, an incident on a subway train in Manhattan garnered immense
media attention and prompted national conversations on the limits of self-defense, vigilantism
and race relations.
While riding on the subway, on December the 22nd of 1984, Bernhard Goetz was approached
by Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and Darrell Cabey, all aged 19, and 18-year-old James Ramseur.
They surrounded Goetz, blocked his path, and asked for $5.
Believing he was about to be robbed, the 37-year-old brandished a revolver and shot each of the
teens once.
All four survived but Cabey was left paraplegic and brain damaged as a result of his injuries.
Goetz, who initially fled but later surrendered to the authorities, was dubbed the “Subway
Vigilante”.
In the high-profile case, he was both praised and vilified in the media and public opinion,
as some demanded a conviction for attempted murder while others regarded him as a symbolic
avenger of New Yorkers’ frustration with rising crime.
Further tensions stemmed from the fact that Goetz, the son of German immigrants, was white
while the teens he’d shot were black.
An investigation by the office of the US Attorney, determined that the shooting’s triggering
factor had been fear rather than race.
Following several trials, Goetz was acquitted of attempted murder and only charged with
carrying an unlicensed firearm, for which he served eight months of a one-year sentence.
He filed for bankruptcy after Cabey obtained a civil judgment of $43 million against him.
Goetz, who became a public figure in the incident’s aftermath and an activist for a tougher stance
on crime, unsuccessfully ran for mayor of New York City in 2001.
The Subway Vigilante most recently came into public attention in November of 2013.
He was arrested for allegedly selling marijuana to an undercover female police officer but
the case was dismissed about a year later.
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Number 2 Shawna Forde, Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Gaxiola
Shawna Forde, Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Gaxiola were members of the vigilante group
Minutemen American Defense, or MAD, who carried out a gruesome home invasion in May of 2009.
Founded by Forde, in 2007, MAD was an anti-illegal immigration group the members of which patrolled
the Arizona/Mexico border.
Bush was Forde’s second-in-command and reportedly had ties to white supremacist groups while
Gaxiola provided intelligence about drug activities in the area.
Forde, then in her early 40s, and her two accomplices gained access to the Arivaca home
of Raul Flores Jr. by pretending to be acting in official capacity and looking for fugitives.
Because of Flores’ alleged drug connections, they expected to discover a stash of illegal
substances and cash that would help fund the vigilante group.
The trio only found inexpensive jewellery, which they took, prior to executing Flores
and his daughter at point blank range.
The man’s wife, Gina Marie Gonzalez, survived after being shot three times.
She armed herself with her dying husband’s handgun and called 911.
While she was on the phone with an operator, Forde, Bush and Gaxiola returned and a shootout
ensued between them and Gonzalez.
Bush was hit in the leg, prompting him and the others to flee.
His wound was treated by a fellow MAD member who would subsequently become a witness for
the prosecution.
Following their arrests and trials, Forde and Bush were sentenced to death while Gaxiola
was given a sentence of life in prison plus 54 years.
Number 1 Phoenix Jones American man Benjamin Fodor, better known
as Phoenix Jones, earned considerable media attention as a real-life superhero.
Fodor decided to adopt the Phoenix Jones persona in 2010, when he was in his early 20s, after
reportedly becoming disillusioned with law enforcement’s handling of crime in Seattle.
He had extensive martial arts training on which he relied when intervening to break
up various criminal incidents.
His mask and costume, which were predominantly black with gold detailing on the chest and
eyes, consisted of a Dragon Skin brand bulletproof vest and stab plating.
He patrolled the streets equipped with a stun baton, tear gas or pepper spray, handcuffs
and a first aid kit.
From 2011 to 2014 Fodor was a member and de facto leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement,
a group of Seattle residents who, like him, adopted costumed superhero personas and patrolled
the streets.
Some of them included Buster Doe, Green Reaper, Torn, Gemini or Mantis and Fodor claimed that
all of those in the organization were skilled in martial arts.
As Phoenix Jones, Fodor successfully intervened and prevented several crimes including inebriated
driving, drug deals, vehicle thefts and a number of fights.
In the process, he was shot, stabbed and had his nose broken on separate occasions.
Public opinions on Jones remained polarized and some, including Seattle City Attorney
Pete Holmes, leaned towards identifying him as a misguided vigilante.
This perspective became rooted in fact, particularly in light of Fodor’s arrests.
The first had occurred in October of 2011, when he was taken into custody for investigation
of assault after he’d used pepper spray on four people to allegedly break up a fight.
Those involved claimed that no altercation had occurred and that the masked man had attacked
them.
He spent seven hours in jail before posting the $3,800 bail and the case against him was
ultimately dropped.
During the proceedings, Phoenix Jones revealed his identity in court and pledged to continue
patrolling the streets.
His transition from superhero to villain was further solidified in January of 2020, when
he was arrested as a suspected drug dealer.
He’d allegedly tried to sell MDMA to an undercover police officer and law enforcement
also reported that Fodor and an accomplice were in possession of 4 grams of cocaine.
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