For a hero, Jason Donascimento has a lot of things going on.
The fabricator by trade is doing some home renovations, recently had his wisdom teeth pulled out and also proposed to his girlfriend, Michelle, just before Christmas.
And it was because of that engagement that the New Westminster resident and 1995 St. Thomas More Collegiate graduate found himself in a situation where he did a pretty heroic deed.
It was the afternoon of Jan. 2, and Donascimento had to stop by Leonardo Jewellers in Metropolis at Metrotown to get Michelle's ring sized correctly.
The Phan family has run the store for the past eight years, and Donascimento has been a frequent customer, even being featured on a store promotion last year during the Movember cancer research fundraising campaign.
Because it was a quiet afternoon, the only people in the store were co-owner Hong Phan, a burly customer who wanted to look at some gold chains, and Donascimento.
"This guy, he had to be 6-4 or bigger," said Donascimento. "He was fidgety, and something just didn't seem right to me. He kept on wanting to look at the chains, and she was hesitant to take it out for him. I was looking at some watches, but I kept looking over to (Hong) and the guy.
"She finally gave it to him, but as soon as he got it, he bolted."
That's when Donascimento, who played high school football for coach K.C. Steele in the mid-'90s and junior football in the Tri-Cities, used his football training.
"I took a run at him, and we ended up hitting a pillar," said Donascimento. "I got a hold of him, and then I stayed on top of him. . By then, some other people had come to help, so I'm on top of him and telling him there's no way he's getting away."
As Phan called security, Donascimento noticed that the man he was sitting on was trying to shove the gold chain down his pants.
"He was trying to hide the chain, but I made sure security knew what he was doing," said Donascimento.
Mall security took over the case, and Donascimento was able to do what he came to the jewelry store for.
"I got the ring, and I took it up to (Michelle's) work, and when I told her what happened, she was kind of surprised," said Donascimento. "She said, 'I can't believe you did that. You could've gotten hurt.'''
That thought didn't occur to Donascimento, who shrugs off suggestions that he did anything special.
"I've always been a guy who's put my friends before me," said Donascimento. "I'm known as a bit of a scrapper, so I just did what I thought was right.
"Even when I told my mom, she said, 'You can't do that, you don't know if he's got a weapon.' . But that's something I did naturally. I try to help out where I can."
That doesn't surprise Steele, who coached Donascimento and remembers his former safety vividly.
"He was a really likeable sort, one of those try guys who would always compete and have a big heart," said Steele. "It doesn't surprise me at all that he helped out.
"That's part of what we're trying to do as coaches. Part of it is football, but the bigger part is to teach kids how to be better citizens and when it's time to do the right thing. . As a teacher, it's good to hear when your former students are doing good things."
Also thankful is Hong's son, Quang Phan, who contacted the Burnaby NOW to tell about Donascimento's good deed.
"It was a really nice gesture," said Quang. "The (other) guy was huge, but (Jason) didn't hesitate. He helped out and we're very thankful.
"Jason is a repeat customer, so we know him pretty well. For him to risk his life to help us, we're very happy."
The Phan family is planning to do a little something for Donascimento, perhaps in the form of a gift certificate, but that won't change Donascimento.
"It's all good," he said.
"I felt good doing it. It's not like I was overwhelmed. I saw a chance to help somebody, and it seemed like the right thing to do."
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