Carjacking suspect shot after kidnapping victim during car sale

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office reports that a carjacking suspect was shot by a friend of his victim Saturday night in Deltona.

Upon arrival, deputies say they found the suspect held on the ground with a gunshot wound to his leg.

The incident reportedly began around 7:30 p.m. Saturday night at a Walgreens store on Providence BLVD. This is where the victim met 32-year-old Michael Cintron-Rodriguez to sell him a Nissan Altima.

Deputies say that the victim had a friend drive separately to the Walgreens to act as back-up in case the transaction went bad. The two were connected via Bluetooth devices for communication and the friend was armed with a gun.

According to the sheriff's office, Cintron-Rodriguez took the Altima for a test drive with the victim riding along, then agreed to buy the car. The suspect was sitting in the driver's seat and handed a bundle of cash to the victim, who was in the passenger's seat. The victim later told deputies while counting the money, he could tell it was all counterfeit.

However, when he realized the cash was fake, deputies say that the victim communicated to his friend that the deal was going bad and the friend then approached the car. That's when Cintron-Rodriguez accelerated and fled in the Altima with the victim still in the passenger's seat. The two fought as Cintron-Rodriguez drove.

However, deputies say that when he stopped at a red light at Elkcam and Providence boulevards, the friend caught up, opened the driver's side door, and saw the two men fighting. He fired his gun, hitting Cintron-Rodriguez once in the leg.

Cintron-Rodriguez reportedly accelerated again, and the friend went back to his vehicle and pursued. He caught up to the Altima pulled over at the intersection of Elkcan and Oswego Avenue, opened the driver's side door again, saw the two men fighting again, and dragged Cintron-Rodriguez out of the vehicle.

The sheriff's office says that the two men were holding the suspect on the ground when they flagged down a deputy. 

Cintron-Rodriguez was transported to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford, where he remained in custody Sunday morning facing charges, including carjacking, kidnapping, and possession of counterfeit currency. His bond was set at $750,000.

The victim was treated for a hand injury at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona beach.