WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV requested all of the public records surrounding the February chase of Florida murder suspect Mathew Flores, 35, in North Carolina.
The chase happened Feb. 2, 2023, several days after the disappearance of Palm Beach Gardens resident Gary Levin.
Flores is a person of interest in Levin's case. He was found driving the missing Lyft driver's car.
Levin's body was found in Okeechobee County several days after Flores was caught in North Carolina.
Sheriff's deputies, as well as the North Carolina Highway Patrol and U.S. marshals, pursued Flores in a two-county car chase.
After a foot pursuit, authorities were able to catch Flores. He is now charged in North Carolina with a parole violation, being a fugitive, felony speeding, eluding arrest and driving while intoxicated.
Flores has also been charged in the Jan. 24, 2023, shooting death of Jose Carlos Martinez, 43, in Wauchula, Florida.
When authorities arrested Flores in western North Carolina, he was driving a 2022 red Kia Stinger that belonged to Levin.
Law enforcement in North Carolina has just released the following phone calls between authorities coordinating the Feb. 2 pursuit of Flores.
"We have a lot of units chasing a vehicle," a Rutherford County, North Carolina, dispatcher says. "It started with — they are on 74 Business now eastbound toward Cleveland County. They're requesting your units with stop sticks at the line. I believe it started with Highway Patrol. It's going to be a murder suspect."
Another audio exchange provides a glimpse into the moments when Flores was apprehended.
"The vehicle wrecked. They were pitted," the dispatcher says.
Then the Cleveland County, North Carolina, dispatcher asks if the suspect has crossed the county line.
"Yeah, they're still in our county. They're chasing him on foot," the dispatcher says. "If you could just keep a unit — at least one — still coming for the line, that would be great. But they're releasing a canine, so ... they're in custody."
The North Carolina district attorney said he will settle all charges against Flores in North Carolina before sending him back to Florida.