Deltona, FL - A man was shot in the leg and arrested after he carjacked a man trying to sell him a car in Deltona on Saturday night.
According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO), the incident began at around 7:30 PM on Saturday at the Walgreens store located at 1925 Providence Blvd. in Deltona. There, a man met with 32-year-old Michael Cintron-Rodriguez to sell him a Nissan Altima.
In the event that the transaction went wrong, the victim had a friend, armed with a handgun, drive separately to the Walgreens to act as back-up. During the transaction, they used Bluetooth devices to stay connected.
With the victim in the passenger’s seat, Cintron-Rodriguez took the Altima for a test drive. Cintron-Rodriguez agreed to buy the car and handed cash to the victim. According to deputies, the victim could tell the money was counterfeit when he was counting it.
The victim let his friend know that the deal was going bad after he realized the money was fake. When the friend approached the Altima, Cintron-Rodriguez took off with the victim still in the passenger’s seat. Both men were fighting in the car while Cintron-Rodriguez was driving. The friend caught up with the car at a red light at Elkcam and Providence boulevards. He opened the driver’s side door, saw the two fighting, and fired his handgun.
Cintron-Rodriguez was shot in the leg but took off in the Altima again. The friend later caught up with the Altima at the intersection of Elkcam and Oswego Avenue. The friend opened the driver’s side door, noticed the two were still fighting, and dragged Cintron-Rodriguez out of the vehicle.
The victim and his friend held Cintron-Rodriguez to the ground while they flagged down a VCSO deputy. Cintron-Rodriguez was transported to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford via Air One helicopter. As of Sunday morning, he remained at the hospital facing charges of carjacking, kidnapping, and possession of counterfeit currency. He's being held on $750,000 bond. The victim was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach for a hand injury.
Photo courtesy Kim Britten and Shutterstock.com.
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