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Matthew Flores faces new charge in Gary Levin case

Flores faces charge of felony possession of stolen car
Matthew Scott Flores was in court on Feb. 3, 2023, after he was arrested in North Carolina in connection with a homicide in Hardee County, Florida, while driving the vehicle of a missing Lyft driver from Palm Beach Gardens.
Posted at 4:27 PM, Feb 17, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-17 18:29:52-05

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Matthew Flores, the man who prosecutors call a person of interest in the Gary Levin case, is facing a new charge in North Carolina.

The Rutherford County District Attorney's Office in North Carolina announced Friday they have added the charge of felony possession of a stolen car to the list of other charges Flores already faces.

Flores, 35, was taken into custody Feb. 1 in Rutherford County driving a Kia Stinger owned by Gary Levin, 74, a Palm Beach Gardens Lyft driver.

Law enforcement officers escort Matthew Flores out of a Rutherford County, North Carolina medical center on Feb. 2, 2023.jpg
Law enforcement officers escort Matthew Flores out of a Rutherford County, North Carolina medical center on Feb. 2, 2023.

RELATED: Timeline into investigation of Gary Levin

Levin was missing for days before his body was

later found in Okeechobee County on Feb. 4. His daughter confirmed Feb. 7 that her father was dead.

Flores was wanted in Florida for second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, discharging a firearm in public and violation of supervised pre-trial release.

The second-degree murder charge and other counts stem from the fatal shooting last month of Jose Carlos Martinez in Wauchula, Florida.

Flores has not been charged with murder in Levin's death.