By Garfield Hylton
Orlando Sentinel
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A Central Florida man faces multiple felony charges after throwing a machete during an attempted armed robbery.
Deputies received a call about a naked man who tried to rob a surveyor at the county fairgrounds on Monday just before 10 a.m., according to a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office press release. The victim told deputies the suspect, Brandon Wright, was picking berries in the woods when Wright, brandishing a machete, demanded the victim’s clothes, wallet and phone. He was complying with Wright’s orders when Wright threw a machete and a handful of berries at the victim, according to the press release.
One deputy identified Wright because the incident was similar to an August 2021 incident involving Wright running naked in the same area.
Officials located him after someone else reported a naked man was outside of a gas station in DeLand. Air One spotted Wright and directed deputies toward his location. They arrested him without incident, according to the press release. Volusia County Sheriff’s Office posted the video of Wright nakedly walking around the parking lot shortly before this arrest.
https://www.facebook.com/VolusiaSheriff/videos/5537461179630107
The video, which has been edited for content, shows Wright walking around the lot and interrupting traffic. At one point, he does pushups near the roadway before returning to the parking lot and lying on the ground. Authorities eventually move in and handcuff him while he’s still naked.
Authorities charged Wright with attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He’s currently in custody without a bond at this time.
Wright’s criminal history consists of kidnapping (2009), cocaine possession (2013 and 2018), possession of a gun by a convicted felon (2018), and resisting an officer without violence (2021).
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