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2 responses so far ↓
Matt Salvaggio // June 2, 2008 at 10:12 am |
A local police officer apprehended a murder suspect late Thursday night after he shot at the officer and fled the scene.
“I remember his eyes. They were cold, the eyes of a killer,” said Carlos Vacante, a 3-year-veteran of the Akron Police Department.
Vacante stopped the man because he was suspected of stealing from parked cars.
Later, Vacante learned, the man was also wanted in the robbery and murder of a service station attendant in Tennessee.
Vacante said, “I got out of my car and called to him. He started turning around and I spotted a handgun in his waistband.
“He was pointing a gun at me, and it fired. I smelled the gunpowder and waited for the pain. I thought I was dead.
“As he pulled the gun and fired, I leaned to the right and dropped to one knee. It was a reflex that saved my life.
Vacante managed to escape the gunfire by running to some nearby cars. He used them for protection until his backup arrived. The suspect fired another shot.
When the other officers arrived, the suspect fled.
Five minutes later, the officers found the suspect trying to break into the back door of a house. When ordered to stop, the suspect surrendered.
“I could still smell the gunpowder this morning. I thought I was dead,” Vacante said.
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Wes Boettner // June 2, 2008 at 10:06 am |
Wes Boettner
29 May 2008
Police
Police arrested a murder suspect Thursday night after he fired shots at an officer and fled the scene.
The officer, Carlos Vacante, said he received, over police radio, a description of the suspect who was wanted for stealing from parked cars. Vacante later spotted the suspect in a parking lot and got out of his car to call to him. The suspect turned and pulled a handgun and fired at the officer.
“I thought I was dead… There’s no doubt in my mind he wanted to kill me last night just because I stopped him,” said Vacante. The officer dodged the shot and took cover behind parked cars. After the suspect fired a second shot that missed, he fled on foot as police backup arrived.
After a five-minute search, officers found the suspect attempting to break into a house to hide. Vacante said he confronted the suspect who surrendered without further incident.
It was later discovered that the suspect was wanted for the robbery and murder of a service station attendant in Tennessee, according to Vacante.
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