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Crime

10th Aug 2022

Naked offender armed with a machete tries to rob man of his clothing in incident captured on CCTV

April Curtin

Video footage shows the suspect doing press ups in the road

An armed, naked suspect was arrested on Monday after throwing a machete and some berries at a man while trying to rob his clothes.

Florida police rushed to the scene at a DeLand gas station shortly before 10am after a surveyor reported that a naked man approached him while carrying a large, machete-style knife.

The victim said the suspect was picking palmetto berries in the woods, but came running out of the brush waving a machete and demanding the victim give him his clothes, wallet and phone.

In a post on Facebook, Volusia Sheriff’s Office explained: “As the victim began to comply with the demands, he said the suspect hurled the machete at him along with a handful of palmetto berries.

“The handle of the machete bounced off the victim’s chest, and he wasn’t injured.”

Police said the suspect then took off into the brush and got into a white Dodge Challenger but at the same time, a responding deputy realised that the circumstances and suspect description were similar to an August 2021 call involving Brandon Wright running around naked in the same area.

His prior convictions also include kidnapping/false imprisonment in 2009, possession of cocaine in 2013 and 2018, possession of a firearm/ammunition by a convicted felon and battery on a law enforcement officer in 2018, and resisting an officer without violence in 2021.

Minutes later, Wright’s vehicle passed a license plate reader in the DeLand area and soon after it was reported that a naked man was outside a gas station in the same area.

At one point, he can be seen doing press-ups in the road.

A police helicopter spotted Wright and gave updates on his location until DeLand police officers tracked him down and took him into custody.

Wright, 34, was charged with attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

He was taken to jail, where he remains in custody.

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Crime,Florida,USA