CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Army veteran tried helping a stranded driver -- a hitman who'd been hired to kill him, cops say

Orlando Sentinel - 9/6/2018

Sept. 06--When Carlos Cruz-Echevarria was found dead along the side of a Deltona road in November, Volusia County detectives believed he was a good Samaritan, randomly shot as he tried helping a stranded driver.

An investigation soon revealed that the story went much deeper. The stranded driver who Cruz-Echevarria tried helping was actually a hitman hired to kill him, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.

On Thursday, Chitwood announced the arrests of three people suspected of Cruz-Echevarria's murder. Investigators say the 60-year-old Army veteran was targeted and executed to prevent him from testifying in a road-rage case.

"I've been a cop for 32 years," Chitwood said during a news conference Thursday. "This is one of the most heinous, despicable, cowardly acts I've ever witnessed."

Volusia County Sheriff's Office

Kelsey McFoley

Kelsey McFoley (Volusia County Sheriff's Office)

Cruz-Echevarria was found shot multiple times in the head near a disabled, stolen car that was stuck in the grass near Malaga Avenue and Purtian Street on Nov. 11, 2017. His truck was stolen and later found burned in Apopka, sheriff's spokesman Andrew Gant said.

The seemingly random slaying left Cruz-Echevarria's family reeling. They described him as a gentle animal lover who raised exotic birds. He made life "so much more rich and beautiful just for being himself," his niece wrote in a statement shortly after his death.

Officials say the series of events that led to Cruz-Echevarria's death began May 2, 2017. He was driving in Deltona when he honked at a vehicle that was stopped at a green light.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office

Benjamin Bascom

Benjamin Bascom (Volusia County Sheriff's Office)

Deputies say the driver of the other car, Kelsey Terrance McFoley, 28, pulled up next to Cruz-Echevarria at another intersection. McFoley pulled out a gun and asked Cruz-Echevarria if he had a problem, according to authorities.

Cruz-Echevarria was able to write down McFoley's tag number. By the end of the month, investigators identified McFoley as a suspect in the road-rage case. He was arrested on June 1, 2017.

McFoley, a convicted felon with more than two dozen previous charges, knew he would have faced a severe prison sentence had he been convicted of the crime, Capt. Brian Henderson said.

Henderson said McFoley was willing to do anything to avoid prison.

On Oct. 23 -- about three weeks before Cruz-Echevarria's death, McFoley's attorney filed a court notice indicating Cruz-Echevarria was set to testify against McFoley in December, authorities said. The document included Cruz-Echevarria's home address.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office

Melissa Rios Roque

Melissa Rios Roque (Volusia County Sheriff's Office)

Henderson said McFoley hired Benjamin Bascom, 24, to kill Cruz-Echevarria. Bascom went to Cruz-Echevarria's house on Nov. 11, but he wasn't there. Bascom drove up and down the neighborhood, waiting for Cruz-Echevarria to arrive, investigators said.

"They were actually stalking the victim," Henderson said. "They were there to murder him."

While turning around in the street, Bascom accidentally got his car stuck in a ditch. A driver pulled up behind Bascom and offered to help.

It was Cruz-Echevarria.

Henderson said Cruz-Echevarria bent over to get a better look at the car -- then, Bascom shot him several times in the head.

The killing went unsolved for months, and the charges against McFoley in the road-rage case were eventually dropped.

But DNA evidence linked Bascom to both vehicles, while phone records tied him to the scene of the murder and the area where Cruz-Echevarria's truck was found, deputies said. The records also indicated that McFoley spoke with Bascom on the phone and gave him instructions on how to carry out the murder, authorities said.

On Tuesday, McFoley and his girlfriend, Melissa Rios Roque -- whom officials say conspired with McFoley and Bascom to commit the murder -- were arrested. McFoley was captured by U.S. Marshals in Orlando. Roque was arrested by Volusia County detectives on Interstate 4.

The next day, Orlando police officers captured Bascom at Orlando International Airport, where he was about to board a plane to Texas.

All three suspects are facing charges of first-degree murder.

Michael Williams can be reached at miwilliams@orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5022 or @michaeldamianw.

Please consider supporting local journalism by purchasing a digital subscription to the Orlando Sentinel. Click here to get one today.

Interactive map: Every homicide in Central Florida »

___

(c)2018 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.