Heroes come in all sizes – but rarely are they as small as Toni Lysaith.
The feisty 9-year-old went toe-to-toe with a hulking career criminal last June after the thug snatched a chain off her mother’s neck.
“He hit my mommy really hard,” recalled Toni, who is barely 5 feet tall and about 70 pounds.
Toni, an “A” student who writes poetry in her free time, beams with pride when she talks about sticking up for her mom – and being nominated for a “Young Heart” Liberty Medal by Commanding Officer Robert Brower of the 81st Police Precinct.
“I feel very proud,” she said, flashing a sparkling grin, “because not all people get the opportunity to be chosen.”
Toni’s mom, Maxine Lysaith, had just finished work as a home health aide when she stopped at a check-cashing store in Bushwick.
“As soon as I was at the counter I felt someone pull me from behind,” she said. “I turned around and said something to him – a curse – and he just grabbed me by the neck and threw me to the ground.”
The thief, identified by police as Daryle Fleming, 44, tore the chain from her neck, which her sister had just given Lysaith as a birthday present.
Fleming, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs more than 180 pounds, ran outside and jumped on a bicycle. Toni went in hot pursuit.
“I pushed him off the bike, and then he got back on and tried to go,” she said. “But then I wouldn’t let him go. I wouldn’t let my hand off the bike. He kicked me, and I still wouldn’t let go.”
As Fleming kicked Toni in the stomach – desperately trying to ride off – he caught the little girl’s fingers in his bicycle spokes.
Maxine ran outside to help her daughter. Fleming punched Maxine, but she punched him back. Witnesses intervened and held Fleming until police officers arrived.