Man Already Charged In Killing Also Indicted In Lyft Driver’s Slaying
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (NEWSnet/AP) — A Florida man already charged with murder has been indicted for the killing of a Lyft driver whose car he allegedly stole in an attempt to escape, authorities announced Wednesday.
An Okeechobee County grand jury this week indicted Mathew Flores with first-degree murder and armed robbery for the Jan. 30 killing of 74-year-old Gary Levin.
Police had been seeking Flores, 36, for a killing in a central Florida farming community a week earlier when he had a friend use the Lyft phone app to summon Levin in Palm Beach County.
Flores shot Levin inside his 2022 Kia Stinger, then dumped his body near Lake Okeechobee, said Eli Lawson, a special agent in charge with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Flores was arrested in North Carolina three days later.
Flores was extradited last week to Florida for the Jan. 24 slaying in Hardee County of Jose Carlos Martinez, 43, who was shot multiple times. Flores is being held without bail on both murder charges. He could face the death penalty.
Flores has pleaded not guilty in the Martinez case. His attorney in that case, Christopher Boldt, declined comment. Flores does not yet have an attorney for the Levin charges. His arraignment on those charges is pending.
Lawson said that after Flores killed Martinez, he stole several cars to elude police, going first to Orlando and then to Palm Beach County, abandoning his last stolen car in a Palm Beach Garden home’s driveway. He had the friend summon a Lyft. Levin accepted the ride and picked him up. Levin drove him to Okeechobee County, where Flores shot him.
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