Would-be carjacker thwarted by elderly man, off-duty cop

WINTER HAVEN (FOX 13) - A trip to the store turned into the experience of a lifetime for a 74-year-old Winter Haven man. 

Larry McClure went to a Walgreens on Havendale Boulevard to buy a gallon of milk Thursday night.  That's when, investigators say, Jose Martinez appeared out of nowhere and tried to grab the elderly man's keys.

"Kinda took me back," ghe recalled.  "I said, 'What?'  He said, 'Gimme your keys.'  I said, 'I'm gonna give you an a** kickin.'"

As luck would have it, an undercover detective was sitting in an unmarked car only feet away.  Aida Roies jumped into action and cuffed the 26-year-old Martinez.

"He could have easily taken down the older man," Roies told FOX 13. "It could have turned out very badly."

It did for Martinez. He was charged with carjacking.

For Roies, it was a chance to prevent what could have been a disaster. Detectives say Martinez had a pocketknife on him.

"She is my hero," added McClure.