Gary Levin, a 74-year-old Lyft driver from Palm Beach Gardens in Florida, hasn’t been in touch with his family since last month.
On Thursday, his family says deputies in North Carolina chased his car at high speeds through three counties. It crashed, and they found someone else behind the wheel: a Florida man wanted on unrelated murder charges.
Wauchula police had been looking for Mathew Scott Flores since at least Jan. 24 in connection with the shooting death of Jose Carlos Martinez. On Jan. 25, they said he may have been driving a 2017 Nissan after swapping the license plates.
“Early indications are the vehicle Flores was in was in fact Mr. Levin’s vehicle, and that connection will be confirmed as soon as possible,” Wauchula Police Chief John Eason told Fox News Digital Friday. He said he’d already dispatched investigators up to North Carolina.
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Missing Palm Beach Gardens Lyft driver Gary Levin, left and center, has not been heard from since Jan. 30. North Carolina police arrested murder suspect Mathew Scott Flores in his car on Thursday, Feb. 2, according to authorities and Levin’s family.
(Palm Beach Gardens Police, Wauchula Police)
Flores was taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries after his capture.
Stephanie Velgara, an alleged accomplice in Martinez’s death, is also in custody.
Eason said the investigation remains ongoing and there could be additional charges. Wauchula police had previously said there may also be more suspects involved in the Martinez murder.
Gary Levin smiles on vacation in a 2020 photo shared to his Facebook page.
(Gary Levin/Facebook)
Levin’s daughter, Lindsay DiBetta, first revealed the connection on Facebook Friday morning.
“The car was found in North Carolina, no sign of my dad on 2/2. The driver was involved in a high speed chase but was eventually caught,” she wrote. “This is not a good person, he had a warrant out for his arrest for a recent homicide and he was trying to flee.”
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Levin has been “unreachable” since Jan. 30, according to Palm Beach Gardens police.
Police say Matthew Flores was hospitalized after a high-speed chase spanning three counties in North Carolina Thursday.
(Wauchula Police)
His car was spotted in Gainesville on Feb. 1, a day before Flores’ arrest and roughly 400 miles from the North Carolina state line.
DiBetta says her father last used his phone in the Okeechobee area around 4 p.m. on Jan. 30.
“If he’s anywhere it’s there,” she wrote. “We cannot wait for answers and a court date. If my dad’s out there we need to know.”
She is asking anyone with information to come forward.
Palm Beach Gardens Police are asking for anyone with information on missing Gary Levin to contact them.
(Palm Beach Gardens Police)
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Levin is described as a White male, 5 feet, 7 inches tall who weighs 170 pounds.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Palm Beach Gardens police at 561-799-4445.
