John “Chico” Silva is the kind of guy you want as your neighbor. He’s a hardworking and dedicated family man who would lend a hand if you needed one. Married to Kerry Mullen, they have three children, Jonathan 19, Hannah 12 and Holly 9. He works for the Boston Public Schools as a custodian and occasionally you might find him manning the door at L Street Tavern. He is a life long resident of South Boston. He grew up on East Third Street and he still lives there today. But what makes Chico an extraordinary Southie guy is that he is the ultimate good citizen.
On Wednesday, December 1st at approximately 8:30pm, Chico along with Mike Caputo and Josh Parra, apprehended two armed robbers. A woman was walking up East Second Street towards M Street Park when two men with bikes walked up behind the woman and grabbed her purse. The victim began to scream and the suspects took off on their bikes. Josh Parra witnessed the incident and ran to get his car. Mike Caputo heard the victim screams from inside his house and ran out barefoot and chased after the two suspects. Chico was standing on his front steps talking on his cell phone when the two suspects came riding by with Caputo chasing after them. Chico – recovering from a recent knee surgery – hobbled over to his car and drove after them. Meanwhile, Parra picked up Caputo in the Rite Aid parking lot and continued the pursuit. Chico saw the suspects turn right onto Emmet Street and backed his car up and boxed in the suspects. Caputo was able to subdue the suspect with the woman’s purse. The second suspect managed to flee the scene on his bike. Moments later the police showed up. Thanks to Chico’s description, the police were able to apprehend the second suspect at the South Bay Mall. Parra, Caputo and Chico positively identified that suspect and both suspects were arrested. A real life Streets of San Francisco on our own streets of South Boston. All three men should be commended for their self-less acts of bravery coming to the aid of a fellow citizen.
Chico takes it all in stride – his heroism hasn’t gone to his head. He is still the same hard-working family man. You can still find him shoveling out his car and taking his kids to hockey before he has to go to work. He is an all-around good guy that makes up the fabric of our vibrant community and we are proud that he is our neighbor. And that is why John “Chico” Silva is our Southie Character of the month!
