“Good Samaritan” Bandit Responds to Criticism

By
derek
-
29
19135

Last week, I wrote about the “Good Samaritan”. A runner on the way to The Chicago Marathon, took matters into his own hands when an individual was asking patrons for money while flashing a handgun.

Jean-Paul Lapierre confronted the man, and managed to disarm the would be robber.

Viewers of the news story were quick to notice that Lapierre was shown wearing a bib from The 2016 Chicago Marathon.

The story on WGNTV was later modified to include Lapierre’s admission that he is a bandit.

LaPierre said he went on to run his 12th Chicago Marathon. But he also told us, he’s what’s known in the running world as a “bandit,” someone who runs marathons without always registering or paying. -WGNTV.com

Lapierre responds to M.I. article

The day after I published the article on Lapierre, I received a string of messages to my personal Facebook account:

If you have the balls to judge me ,then have the balls to call me- xxx-xxx-xxxx J.P. LaPierre

Just for the record, idiot, I saved runners lifes as well as innocent people..I look forward to when we meet….Do your kids know your a jerk?

I wonder how cool you would have acted in that situation..but go head u loser..if discovering info “That I allready provided to the press gets your jollies off

I own (Solely) the Boston Running Museum Archives..featured in New England Runner Jan/Feb issue 2017. I have PROOF that I ran and completed all the marathons I said I have run. My facebook page has admitted for years that I am a bandit..did you know Boston was built by Bandits? 1/3 the field in 1968..anyways

I have video,photos ,other runnersd that have run these races with me..so if you want to be a real detective..choke..cough..I would advise that youthink what you say and do better research..really looking forward to meeting in the flesh

In Response to Lapierre

The proof that he ran all the marathons that he said would not really be helpful. That would just prove that he stole thousands of dollars in race fees.

He claims to have saved the lives of runners and non runners. While I am not an expert in law enforcement, this did not appear to be a mass shooting situation, but rather a petty thief trying to intimidate people into handing over money.

I received a message from someone that was on the train with Lapierre.

He is arrogant. I’m glad he stopped the guy, but he kept bragging after the fact about still running as a bandit. When some people asked him why he doesn’t run legit he got annoyed and didn’t say much.

I felt that I held back in my criticism of Lapierre. Below is everything I wrote on Lapierre relative to his banditting. In the article, I just presented the facts showing that he banditted the race (the article was written before Lapierre’s admission was made public), and reiterated my overall stance on banditting.

Lapierre was wearing a bib from The 2016 Chicago Marathon. He was not registered for The 2019 Chicago Marathon. The bib from 2016 was not his, either. In fact, I could find no record of him competing in any Chicago Marathon, despite WGN reporting that Lapierre has claimed that Sunday was his 12th Chicago Marathon.

In all seriousness, my stance on banditing has been clear. There is never a time when it is ok to bandit a race. While I am not focusing on bandits to the extent that I have in the past, I am not giving them a pass. With Lapierre, you can applaud his actions on the train, while at the same time be critical of his behavior as a bandit.

Lapierre’s attitude is similar to other bandits.

He seems to have a sense of entitlement. Bandits put themselves above the rules. While thousands of people ran legitimately, Lapierre felt he had the right to run unregistered, utilizing resources meant for legitimate entrants.

Lapierre feels that he should be immune from criticism. He resorted to making threats when criticized.

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29 COMMENTS

  1. Unfortunately, for reasons many upon many race directors have laid out, being a bandit in 2019 is not as cool as it was in 1968.

  2. Maybe he found out about your previous article from someone he knows? In any case, his backlash confirms that Marathon Investigations is a platform with a pretty broad reach. Any plans to actually call him? I wouldn’t.

    • Based on your obnoxious comments, you have given me the anger to want to bandit the NYC Marathon on Sunday. While I understand banditing is wrong, you have compared it on the same level to pulling a gun on someone. That guy was wrong for banditing the race, but he is not able to be criminally charged it is not a crime by law and quite frankly, pulling a gun on people is putting a lot of people’s lives at risk. Your approach to this situation it rather bothersome and it makes me want to pull out a 2017 NYC Marathon bib and run. If you find me, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Better yet, send the law enforcement my way and they will laugh in your face. Your argument that banditing is wrong is accurate, it is immoral and unethical but I don’t think it is criminal behavior, nor does it put the lives of others at risk, and you are saying that it does. I urge others to highly read this post and consider a bully.

      • Let’s see….from this story in Runner’s World. https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20865183/how-to-get-into-nyc-marathon/

        “To test your luck, you can sign up for a MyNYRR account and apply. It’s free! (But if you do get in, it’s $295 for non-NYRR members, $255 for members, and $358 for runners living outside of the U.S.)”

        So, you are good with stealing at least $255, $295, $358? OK. (See this quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/300099-churchill-madam-would-you-sleep-with-me-for-five-million )

        Then let’s try this one out. I applied to get into last year’s NYC marathon. I didn’t win the lottery and didn’t get an entry. I was going to be in NY state that weekend. It was my single best opportunity to do the race. (I live in the Midwest).

        Had I run the race anyway I would have been a thief ($255) and cheat (not entitled to a ticket). Had several hundred (thousand?) others like me chosen to do the same they would have run out of water, food, security and of course, medals.

        No it’s not like pulling a gun on someone, but it is still stealing, which is illegal, immoral and unethical. Whether it’s a $1 candy bar, a $255 race entry, or a $40k SUV stealing is stealing.

        But you go on and do you. How did your race go?

  5. Bandit = robber = stealing. Having publicly admitted his crimes, a call from local law enforcement rather than from Derek, would be in order.

  6. He did a good thing on the train, but he’s wrong for running races as a bandit. He seems very self-centered to not understand that he’s taking resources from runners that paid a lot of money to run in those races. It’s pathetic on his part to attack you like he did.

    • “He did a good thing on the train, but he’s wrong for running races as a bandit. ”

      Yes. And he was applauded for the one and criticized for the other. The notion that since he did a good thing in one situation, no one should criticize him for other actions is way stupid.

  7. Isn’t it funny how this guy felt “it wasn’t right” about this robber on the train, while also truly robbing other runners by the way of taking in fuel and presumably finishers medals at marathons he bandits, and robs race directors by not paying legitimately for his races?

    • You’re the worst, comparing someone with a gun, trying to take people’s lives to someone banditing a race. Exactly on the same level. IF your significant other was on the train when he pulled that gun out, at that moment you would really care if he was going to bandit the race. Shame on you. I am going to bandit the NYC Marathon this sunday because of some of the pompous attitudes.

  9. I read Mr. Lapierre’s message with a Qunicy (MA) accent. I was not disappointed.

    I would be interested in seeing his collection of memorabilia but I would not expect much. I do find it fascinating when people with private collections dub them “museums” (locally there is somebody with a fairly small collection of antique toys that calls their collection a musuem–I do not think that word means what they think it means).

  10. I get it. He was jealous the robber on the train was cutting into his turf. He is an entitled thief. The worst kind.

    • You’re sick, really sick. I am not with a bandit and truly against them, but if you can’t even acknowledge that disarming someone with a gun that is going to shoot people is a HIGHER level of importance in this world by saving lives than stealing a bib, then shame on you. You are the worst actually. People like you make me want to get into banditing.

  11. “Boston Running Museum” That sounds awesome! Where is this museum? Is there an admission price? Are there other running museums I could visit in the USA?

  12. Well, Mr. Lapierre response was poorly thought out. I love the 3rd grade veiled threat stuff. It’s cute. He admits to theft (moronic), stopped a robber (brave, but he didn’t save any lives), and believes his banal tuff guy talk will stop people for criticizing his poor choice to steal. (It won’t) Why would anyone want to call him? (He’s just going to whine, curse, and carry on) Why would anyone care for the veiled threats of a petty thief? (He’s not going to do anything to anyone.) We’ll move on and he’ll be angry going to bed for a long time.

  16. You’re acting like a child and a coward. This guy saved people’s lives and you’re more focused about him “stealing” a bib. At the end of the day what he did was wrong, but he saves people’s lives. You’re just attacking him through a computer, makes you sound like a punk. I am against banditing, but give this guy some credit for taking the gun out of someone’s hands. You don’t seem to get the point.

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