By 11:30 p.m. last Thursday, Steve Silva had already gone to bed for the night inside his second floor apartment on Wilson Street. In the apartment downstairs, his friend, Daniel Horan, couldn’t sleep. He relaxed in his pajamas watching television.

That was, until he heard loud bangs outside. Then the sound of glass breaking.

Mr. Horan ran to the door in time to see a man inside his friend’s work truck.

“I called 911 and grabbed my bat,” he said.

He told his wife to call their friends upstairs and let them know what was going on outside. Then he ran out to confront the would-be robber.

When Mr. Siva got up, he ran to his window.

“I saw my brake lights go on and off. The next thing I know he was jumping out the window,” Mr. Silva said.

The two men, one armed with a baseball bat, both in their pajamas, followed the man as he attempted to get away.

“He was kind of drunk, so it wasn’t hard to keep up with him,” said Mr. Horan.

Then the man ducked behind a parked van.

“He was so drunk he thought he was invisible,” Mr. Horan said. “I said, I can see you, you know.”

Within minutes, three patrol cars sped to the area and took Matthew T. DiPlacido, 21, of Wrentham, Mass. into custody.

Visibly under the influence, Mr. DiPlacido repeatedly gave police a false name when they asked. Even after police found the man’s identification in the glass from the window he allegedly just broke, he continued to give a different name.

Mr. DiPlacido was charged with two counts of vandalism/malicious injury to property; and obstructing a police officer in execution of duty.

Mr. Horan and Mr. Silva couldn’t explain why the man chose the pick-up truck as his target.

“All I had was a sander and a drill in there,” Mr. Silva said. “Maybe he was looking for a place to sleep.”

Regardless, Mr. Horan said that whatever the reason for the break-in, people need to look out for one another and take action. He wouldn’t hesitate to get involved again whether it was for a friend, a neighbor or a complete stranger. If something happens again, he’ll be ready.

“I have a bat, but I don’t have a glove,” he said.