A Good Samaritan intervened when a suspect escaped from a police car and started to attack a deputy early Friday.
Deputy J. Brown arrested Osvaldo Flores, 33, on a domestic violence charge. Deputies say Flores was in custody when he managed to get his handcuffs around to his front and started kicking out the windows of a patrol car.
Dep. Brown pulled into a convenience store parking lot and as he was parking the vehicle, Flores, 33, started climbing out of the vehicle and charged him.
Sheriff's officials say Dep. Brown tried to subdue him but Flores got his handcuffs around the deputy's neck. That's when the unknown witness to the altercation jumped in to assist the deputy.
“Deputy Brown was in a fight for his life,” Sheriff Chris Nocco. “Talk about heroism and bravery - that's Deputy Brown for what he did. It was a citizen that also assisted in helping Deputy Brown out.”
Flores now faces a number of charges, including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and escape. He is being held on $55,000 bond.
Dep. Brown received lacerations and cuts to the face. The Good Samaritan was not injured.
“Flores is lucky to be alive. He tried to kill one of our deputies. That ain't gonna happen in our county,” Sheriff Nocco.