A Florida man’s good deed went horribly wrong when he stopped to help someone in distress.
What happened next turned into a wild chase that ended in one of the strangest arrests you’ll ever see.
And this Florida man begged for one thing after his armed carjacking that has deputies laughing.
Good Samaritan becomes victim in Volusia County nightmare
Monday night around 9 p.m., a driver identified only as Kyle was heading home along State Road A1A in Daytona Beach Shores when he spotted someone waving him down.
The man appeared to be in distress, so Kyle did what any decent person would do – he stopped to help.
But Kyle’s instincts immediately kicked in when he got a good look at the stranger.
"After taking a look at him, I thought this guy is sketchy. I said, ‘Nope,’" Kyle told reporters. "I started to pull forward, but he stayed with the window."
That’s when the situation took a deadly turn.
"That’s when he said, ‘I need this.’ That’s when I realized he had a gun pointed at me," Kyle recalled.
The suspect, later identified as 34-year-old Grant Hagood-James of Fort Lauderdale, had turned a simple request for help into an armed carjacking.
Kyle made the smart decision not to fight back.
"I realized my life is in danger right now," he said.
Hagood-James drove off with Kyle’s car, along with his phone and wallet inside.
Fortunately, Kyle was able to flag down another driver who let him use their phone to call 911.
Carjacker takes the scenic route to capture
What happened next sounds like something out of a comedy movie, except it was all too real.
While Kyle was calling police, Hagood-James was about to make himself the star of one of the most bizarre police chases in recent memory.
Deputies tracked the stolen vehicle to Port Orange, where Hagood-James abandoned it in a residential yard on Shamrock Drive.
But instead of trying to disappear into the neighborhood, this criminal mastermind decided to go for a swim.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood explained what happened next: "They’re calling and saying that a white male swam up to the restaurant on the Intracoastal, climbed in and ran through the restaurant, took his shirt off, ran back through the restaurant, goes back into the river and swam into the mangroves."
Restaurant staff at Our Deck Down Under watched in disbelief as a shirtless man emerged from the Halifax River, ran through their establishment, threw his shirt in the trash, and then jumped back into the water.
They immediately called police.
Manhunt ends
Volusia Sheriff’s Office deployed their Air One helicopter, K-9 units, drones, and boats to search for the suspect.
Port Orange Police, Edgewater Police, and Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety all joined the manhunt.
Body camera footage shows deputies using the helicopter to track Hagood-James as he tried to hide in the mangroves along the Halifax River.
"This is the sheriff’s office. You are under arrest. You need to crawl out to the boat officers or come to shore and surrender," a deputy announced over the loudspeaker.
When Hagood-James didn’t comply, deputies made their position crystal clear: "If not, we’re gonna send a dog and you’re gonna get bit."
That got his attention, and he was taken into custody without further incident.
Criminal asks for a smoke
Once apprehended, Hagood-James made one request that caught everyone by surprise.
"Any way I could have a smoke?" he asked deputies.
The question was so absurd that the deputies couldn’t help but laugh.
"Please?" he begged.
One deputy decided to have a little fun with the situation: "Why do you deserve it?"
That’s when Hagood-James started trying to justify why he needed a cigarette after committing armed carjacking and leading police on a wild chase through a river.
"There were alligators out there, crocodiles," he claimed. "Someone kept saying there were crocodiles, it scared the s*** out of me."
The deputies just kept laughing at his ridiculous excuse.
When another deputy pointed out the obvious contradiction – "No, you just said you were having a heart attack and you want a cigarette?" – Hagood-James stuck to his story about the scary reptiles.
Justice served with a side of reality
Hagood-James was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail after 11 p.m. on charges of armed carjacking.
He’s being held without bond, which means no cigarette breaks anytime soon.
Records show this wasn’t his first run-in with law enforcement – he has previous charges including domestic battery, cocaine possession, and resisting an officer without violence.
Kyle got his car back, though he’s reconsidering his willingness to help strangers in the future.
"It depends because thankfully, the next person stopped for me when I needed help, but I’ll definitely be a little more cautious next time," he said.
Look, this story perfectly captures the insanity of Florida crime.
Here’s a guy who commits armed carjacking, leads police on a chase that includes swimming through a river and hiding in mangroves, and then has the nerve to ask his arresting officers for a cigarette.
The sheer audacity is almost impressive – if it weren’t for the fact that he terrorized an innocent Good Samaritan who was just trying to help.
Kyle’s experience is a reminder that while most people in distress genuinely need help, criminals know that decent folks will stop when someone appears to be in trouble.
The good news is that Florida law enforcement doesn’t mess around with armed carjackers, even the ones who provide comic relief during their arrest.
Hagood-James will have plenty of time to think about his poor life choices – and maybe quit smoking while he’s at it.
¹ WTVT Web Staff, "Florida man begs for a smoke following chase and arrest," FOX 13 News, October 8, 2025.
² Patricio G. Balona, "’Good Samaritan’ carjacked near Port Orange by suspect who then went for a swim," Daytona Beach News-Journal, October 9, 2025.
³ Lorena Estrada and Rubén Rosario, "Man carjacked at gunpoint in Daytona Beach Shores shares ordeal; Fort Lauderdale man charged," WSVN, October 9, 2025.
⁴ Chris Gollon, "VSO Arrests Carjacking Suspect from Mangroves," Volusia County Branch Jail, October 8, 2025.
