Suspect In Custody Minutes After Robbery At DeBary Burger King

Date Added: June 21, 2017 2:28 pm

Andrew Gant
Public Information Office

SUSPECT IN CUSTODY MINUTES AFTER ROBBERY AT DEBARY BURGER KING

A suspect in an armed robbery at a DeBary Burger King on Wednesday morning was tracked down within minutes after police in Orange City spotted the vehicle Volusia County sheriff’s deputies were looking for.

The robbery was called in at 11:33 a.m. at the Burger King at 305 Sunrise Blvd. Witnesses told responding deputies a male suspect displayed a gun, robbed the employees at two registers and ran out with cash. No one was injured in the robbery, and the suspect fled into some nearby woods.

Witnesses also described a silver Ford SUV that took off out of those same woods. The suspect was described as a white male carrying a backpack and wearing a black shirt and black pants. Another witness reported he’d noticed an SUV backed into the woods there earlier.

At 11:46 a.m., an Orange City police officer spotted the suspect vehicle in the area of Saxon Boulevard and Threadgill Place in Orange City and conducted a traffic stop. Deputies responded to the scene, and they brought two witnesses who were able to identify the driver, 32-year-old Matthew H. Juan (DOB 10/24/1984), as the suspect in the hold-up.

Deputies also recovered cash from the wooded area near the Burger King where the SUV had been parked.

At the scene of the traffic stop, deputies noticed a piece greenery stuck to the back of the vehicle, as if it had been recently parked amid some brush and vegetation.

Detectives were interviewing Juan, who appeared to be transient and possibly new to the area, on Wednesday afternoon. He faces a charge of armed robbery.