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When Carlos Cruz-Echevarria was found dead along the side of a Deltona road inNovember, Volusia County detectives believed he was a good Samaritan, randomly shot as he tried helping a stranded driver.
An investigation soon revealed that the story went much deeper. The stranded driver who Cruz-Echevarria tried helping was actually a hitman hired to kill him, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
On Thursday, Chitwood announced the arrests of three people suspected of Cruz-Echevarria’s murder. Investigators say the 60-year-old Army veteran was targeted and executed to prevent him from testifying in a road-rage case.
“I’ve been a cop for 32 years,” Chitwood said during a news conference Thursday. “This is one of the most heinous, despicable, cowardly acts I’ve ever witnessed.”