DELAND, Fla. — Deland police say the person who was shot in the head during an attempted carjacking near Florida Technical College last month has died.
No one has been charged in that crime but police say two men arrested for another attempted carjacking are their main suspects in the shooting.
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The initial carjacking attempt happened on the evening of Saturday, May 21st when police say a 75-year-old man was sitting in his car in the parking lot of a Walmart on North Woodland Boulevard
Investigators say one of the men opened the driver’s side door and tried to force the man out of the car.
Captain Dice speaks on the arrest of two subjects involved in this past weekend’s attempted carjackings. More information will be released as the situation unfolds.
Posted by DeLand Police Department on Tuesday, May 24, 2022
The victim was able to run to the store’s entrance and call for help before the suspects could steal his car.
Less than an hour later, police say a man and his girlfriend were sitting in their car in a parking lot near Florida Tech off of Woodland Boulevard when two men fitting the same description from the previous attempted carjacking tried to get in their car.
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It was during that struggle that officers say one of the victims was shot once in the head and left brain dead.
The victim hasn’t been identified at the request of their family.
Police later arrested 22-year-old Jon Torres and 21-year-old Isaiah Thomas and charged them with attempted carjacking and attempted burglary with assault for the carjacking attempted in the Walmart parking lot.
Investigators say Torres and Thomas are the main suspects in the now fatal attempted carjacking near Florida Tech, but no charges have been filed in that case.
Both are being held in the Volusia County jail on no bond and have pleaded not guilty to the carjacking and burglary charges they each face. If convicted, they could be sentenced to life in prison.
The State Attorney’s Office is assisting the Deland Police Department with both investigations.
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