Person of interest in Palm Beach Gardens Lyft driver's death extradited to Florida

Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read

A man identified as a person of interest in the disappearance and death of Palm Beach Gardens Lyft driver Gary Levin has been extradited to Florida from North Carolina to face charges in a separate case, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported Tuesday.

Mathew Scott Flores, 36, was booked into the Hardee County Jail at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. He is facing a first-degree murder charge in the Jan. 24 killing of Jose Carlos Martinez in Wauchula, about 50 miles southeast of Tampa.

Flores also is considered a person of interest in the disappearance of Levin, 74, whose remains were discovered in a wooded area in northern Okeechobee County on Feb. 4, days after Levin's family reported him missing.

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To date, no charges have been filed in connection to Levin's death. Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman of the 19th Judicial Circuit's major crimes unit in Fort Pierce said this week that he could not discuss the Okeechobee County case because it remains under investigation.

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Flores had been in the custody of North Carolina authorities since Feb. 2, after state troopers there arrested him following a multicounty chase in which Flores reportedly was driving a stolen red Kia Stinger that belonged to Levin. It remains unclear how he came to be in possession of Levin’s vehicle.

Gary Levin, 74, of Palm Beach Gardens was reported missing on Jan. 31, 2023. Levin, a driver for Lyft, failed to return from picking up a fare, family members said.
Gary Levin, 74, of Palm Beach Gardens was reported missing on Jan. 31, 2023. Levin, a driver for Lyft, failed to return from picking up a fare, family members said.

Levin was reported missing to Palm Beach Gardens police on Jan. 31, a day after he failed to return from picking up passengers while working for the ride-sharing company Lyft. Those who knew Levin said he picked up a fare in Delray Beach on Jan. 30 and at some point traveled to Okeechobee before he vanished.

A subsequent review of highway traffic-sensor data placed Levin's Kia in Miami and Okeechobee before tracking it to Sumter County northwest of Orlando, and then to Gainesville in northern Florida.

FDLE reported the recovery of the human remains on Feb. 4. They were positively identified by the medical examiner for Okeechobee County, and Levin's family publicly confirmed his death shortly afterward.

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North Carolina can pursue criminal charges at a later date

District Attorney Ted Bell of Rutherford County said in March that his office dismissed substantive charges to indict against Flores, meaning the western North Carolina county would delay presenting its case to a grand jury so that Flores' cases in Florida could take priority.

The move allows North Carolina to pursue its charges at a later date.

North Carolina authorities charged Flores with DWI, fleeing and eluding, and possession of a stolen vehicle after apprehending him in Rutherford County, about 70 miles west of Charlotte.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida extradites person of interest in death of Lyft driver Gary Levin