SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Two suspects wanted in connection with an attempted homicide in New Jersey were arrested Tuesday afternoon in unincorporated Seminole County, Florida, after one tried to flee and was struck by a deputy’s vehicle, Sheriff Dennis Lemma said.
Deputies received information that 19-year-old Darren Salazar and 20-year-old Janelly Ramos were in the area, near the intersection of Red Bug Lake Road and Tuskawilla Road, around noon.
According to the release, while surveilling the suspects’ vehicle, Salazar tried to flee from deputies.
“The male then ran from the car, leaving the female in the car,” said Sheriff Lemma on Wednesday. “And as he was running through the roadway, he turned and reached into his waistband.”
Video obtained by News 6 shows the man lying in the middle of the intersection after he was struck by a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office vehicle while he was trying to get away.
Sheriff Lemma explained that his deputies took action to stop a perceived threat.
“The deputy that was there on the scene saw him reaching for his waistband, believed to be him grabbing for a firearm, and then intentionally used the vehicle to minimize the threat, hit him with the vehicle and then put him down on the ground,” said the sheriff.
While the intersection of Red Bug Lake Road and Tuskawilla Road was closed during the investigation, all lanes of traffic reopened around 6:30 p.m.
Lemma said his department got information through one of their license plate readers that there was a wanted suspect in the area.
“We had unmarked vehicles in the area, because typically, what we’ll do is we will want to confirm that the driver of the vehicle matches the description of the person that’s wanted,” said Sheriff Lemma.
The sheriff said deputies there were two people in the car, a man and woman who were both wanted after an attempted homicide in New Jersey.
Salazar, the man who was struck by the deputy’s vehicle, is in the hospital with broken ribs and other injuries, according to the sheriff, who described the injuries as non-life-threatening.
Ramos, the woman who was taken into custody at the scene, was booked into the Seminole County Jail and faced a judge Wednesday afternoon.
During the first appearance, she was asked if she wanted to voluntarily waive extradition back to New Jersey, and she replied, “Yeah.”
Our News 6 team is also working to find out more about the crime the pair was connected to in New Jersey. Online court records show the attempted homicide happened in May. That same month, prosecutors in Passaic County confirmed a 16-year-old was shot and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.