Prosecutors seeking death penalty in Florida Lyft driver murder

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a Florida man accused of killing a Lyft driver and fleeing before being captured in North Carolina, according to our ABC news partners at WFTS in Tampa Bay.

Deputies escort Matthew Scott Flores, a Florida murder suspect, from Rutherford Regional Health System to a patrol car heading to the jail.

In a recently filed court notice, prosecutors in Okeechobee County say they will seek the death sentence against Matthew Flores, who has been charged in the Jan. 30 murder of 74-year-old Gary Levin.

Missing Lyft Driver-Florida This undated photo shows Gary Levin, 74, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Levin has been missing since Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, when his car was seen in Miami. Late Thursday, police in North Carolina found his car along with a Florida suspect in an earlier homicide, but Levin remained missing. (Courtesy of Levin family via AP)

WFTS reports that prosecutors noted many factors prior to filing the notice, including the timing of the killing while the suspect was fleeing a separate felony, and saying it was done in a “cold, calculated, and premeditated manner.”

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Thirty-six-year-old Flores was indicted earlier this month for killing Levin and is currently in jail without bond. WFTS says he is set to be arraigned next week in Okeechobee County.

WFTS reports that Flores has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge for reportedly shooting 43-year-old Jose Carlos Martinez on January 24 in Hardee County in central Florida.

According to investigators, after shooting Martinez, Flores stole multiple cars and made his way up to Palm Beach County, where a friend ordered him a ride through Lyft, which was accepted by Levin.

Flores shot Levin inside his 2022 Kia Stinger and left his body near Lake Okeechobee, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

WFTS says investigators found Levin’s body five days later following the retrace of his ride with Flores.

Flores was finally taken into custody in North Carolina on February 2, only Channel 9 was at the scene in Rutherford County.

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