MOUNT DORA, Fla. – An off-duty deputy held a would-be thief at gunpoint at a Mount Dora McDonald's after the man tried to carjack the deputy.
Police said the suspect made his way through the drive-thru and tugged multiple times on the handle of a car, trying to get inside.
Employees at the McDonald's tell News 6 the man was seen sitting inside for hours before making a bold move.
"I came at 2 and they've been here since," employee Divonte Lawrence said. "I've been here, you know, in the lobby, transitioning from inside to outside, standing around."
Lawrence said he was cleaning the tables Friday when he noticed Shawn Chapman sitting inside with two women. Lawrence said something felt off, and that's when he noticed Chapman had gone outside.
"There was a grayish car. This lady was coming around the corner and he tried to open the door," Lawrence said.
Police said Chapman pulled on the passenger-side door handle and yelled at the person inside to get out.
A representative for Mount Dora said that person happened to be an off-duty Lake County deputy.
"It was a very unusual situation, to say the least," Lisa McDonald said. "The suspect just picked the wrong car."
Police said the deputy quickly reacted by pulling out his gun, getting out and telling his girlfriend, who was driving, to drive away. When police got there, the deputy already had things under control.
"There was a guy who was kind of holding him down on the ground," Lawrence said. "(He) had his hand on him telling him not to move."
When police asked Chapman what happened, he told them he was looking for his brother and the car he was trying to get into was similar to the one his brother drives.
Chapman was arrested for trying to break into an occupied car and was later released from the Lake County Jail on $2,000 bond.
According to records, Chapman had been in jail 10 days prior on drug charges.