Good Samaritan shot while trying to help catch suspect

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A Good Samaritan is finally sharing what happened after he tried to help catch a drive-by shooting suspect in East Houston.

This incident happened on August 8th.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office reported the suspects had killed one person and injured another in a drive-by shooting near Kenny and Marwood in east Houston.

The suspects escaped, but police were able to track down their car again near Nimitz and Frankie in Cloverleaf, which is when that Good Samaritan, Aaron Rodriguez, became involved.

Rodriguez is a wrecker driver said he was nearby when police located the suspects’ car. When he saw a Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy putting handcuffs on the driver, he stayed put. But then, he said he noticed a woman, later identified as Cormeshia LaDay, slip out of the passenger side.

The deputy was busy apprehending the driver, so Rodriguez said he tried to chase her down.

“We ran a for a little good ways, and she tripped and fell....I told her stay down, and she didn’t listen, turned around, grabbed what looked like black pistol and shot me,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was shot in the torso and in the arm. He said the female suspect fired one more time at his head, but that luckily, the shooter had run out of bullets.

“I would have been gone. I wouldn’t be here today if she would have had that last bullet because she was aiming straight for my head,” said Rodriguez.

“At the time, he told me he wasn't going to make it, that he loved us, that he loved the kids. It was emotional, horrible,” said Amanda Rodriguez, the wife of the victim.

Police now have LaDay in custody. LaDay has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

But for Rodriguez, that moment of public good came at a personal cost.

He told Fox 26 that he cannot pick up or play with his kids because of the severe pain from the gunshot wounds. He also said that he cannot work because his job as a wrecker driver includes heavy lifting.

Now, they are behind on rent and medical bills. But, Rodriguez said, in a way, he’s glad he chased her.

“What if she got away and I didn't chase her and she went down the road and it was somebody's wife and kids like mine?” said Rodriguez. “She had enough bullets to shoot them.”

Either way, this blistering moral dilemma will stay with him for life. The bullet is wedged deep into his arm.

“The doctor pretty much said it’s a lot easier to leave it in there than to pull it out because it'll do more damage trying to pull it out,” said Rodriguez.

It’s a permanent reminder that sometimes, no good deed goes unpunished.

If you'd like to help the Rodriguez family out, you can donate to their Go Fund Me page: https://www.gofundme.com/2j5ec9hg