 Mr Fenwick denied assaulting youths |
Mark Fenwick, 34, from Coulby Newham near Middlesbrough, handed the teenagers over to police, but was later arrested over claims he assaulted them.
The father-of-three told a Teesside Crown Court jury he believed he had "done the right thing" last October.
Cleveland Police said they had a duty to investigate allegations of assault.
Jurors took less than an hour to clear Mr Fenwick of two assault charges.
Mischief Night traditionally takes place on the night before Halloween and involves youths playing pranks, which can get out of hand.
After the hearing on Friday, Mr Fenwick said he and his family "just wanted to forget the whole thing".
The jury heard a concrete slab was thrown through Mr Fenwick's window on the night of the incident.
When he went outside he was confronted by a gang of about 30 youths armed with sticks, bricks and stones.
Later he saw them damaging nearby properties, so he and a neighbour gave chase across some fields.
The two men caught three boys and planned to hold them until the police arrived, but handed them over to a passing police van.
But one of the youths claimed he had been "strangled" and hit with a stick, while another alleged he had been punched.
Reasonable force
During the trial, Mr Fenwick consistently denied "going over the top" and said he was attempting to apprehend youths who had caused damage to his and neighbouring homes.
After the verdict, Insp Charlie Bell of Cleveland Police, said: "Although people have the right to defend their property, they must do so with reasonable force according to the specific circumstances they find themselves in.
"In this case, police were contacted with allegations of assault and as such we were duty bound to investigate these claims.
"A thorough investigation took place before we presented all the facts to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). They deemed the matter should go before the court.
"The jury has made its decision today and we must accept this decision."
A CPS spokesperson added: "This was an allegation of assault by a man armed with a wooden pole against youths whom he believed had damaged his home.
"We considered medical evidence and photographs of the injuries in making our decision that the case should go to court.
"There was no evidence to show the youths he caught had been involved in the incident or had committed any offence.
"There was no criticism by the judge of the CPS for bringing this prosecution."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/7030089.stm
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