Police say a would-be carjacking ended with a twist in Hialeah Wednesday night when the victim turned the tables on the alleged suspect.
Some time before 10:30 p.m., officers say 41-year-old Orlando Garcia told them he was chasing someone who stole his car. The two caught up near 16th Avenue on Okeechobee Road, stepped out of cars, and got into a fight.
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"There's a confrontation between these two men," said Hialeah Public Information Officer Eddie Rodriguez. "That's when one man arms himself with a handgun and fires."
Investigators say the gunman shot the suspected carjacker, identified as 35-year-old Leobel Gonzalez, in the leg at least once, and left him with cuts on his face. Fire Rescue crews took the alleged thief to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was recovering Thursday morning.
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The scene was captured on video by local DJ Mello Lite.
"I see the man, he look like he hurt, he got shot," he told NBC 6. "So I had asked him, 'What do you want me to do? You want me to record it?' He said, 'Go ahead man, do what you got to do.'"
Investigators went to the hospital to speak with Gonzalez about what happened. They also took the Garcia into custody for questioning, Rodriguez said. He is being charged with battery.
"He decided to take justice into his own hands and he did not wait for the proper authorities to get there to conduct an investigation," Rodriquez told NBC 6.
We want "to make sure we get the whole story," Rodriguez said.
Gonzalez was later charged with grand theft auto.
