Dwayne Fletcher doesn't have St. Peter's resume, but to Carlesha Freeland-Gaither and her family he's a saint."A lot of us struggle coming from a troubled background," Fletcher, a Germantown resident, said Thursday, "but when we get an opportunity to just show people that we can be better, we can. You just have to give us a chance, that's all."Fletcher, along with a group of law enforcement officers who helped free Freeland-Gaither from the whims of a lifelong criminal earlier this month, was honored Thursday by City Council.Carl Freeland, Freeland-Gaither's father, called Fletcher "my daughter's hero.""And my hero. If it wasn't for him," he added, "my daughter wouldn't be here right now."In Germantown, on the night of Nov. 2, as Freeland-Gaither was violently wrestled into her captor's car, Fletcher was walking along a nearby street when her cries for help gave him pause.He turned and headed toward the scene and called police. As he got closer, he heard her kick the windows; he thought they were gunshots. As he got even closer, the abductor pulled away.He found Freeland-Gaither's cell phone and eyeglasses on the sidewalk, and again phoned police.With Fletcher's eyewitness testimony — and timely surveillance video — police were able to identify Freeland-Gaither's abductor as Delvin Barnes. He was tracked to a Maryland parking lot.On Thursday, Freeland said his family hasn't spoken with his daughter about what happened during her three-day nightmare."She really didn't want to talk about it," Freeland said. "I'm just glad that my daughter is a friendly person and got him to be a friendly guy where he wouldn't harm her."Healthwise, Freeland said his daughter is "coming along.""She's doing well," he said. "She's still a little distraught, but she's doing well."
