VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies in Florida arrested a naked man outside of a gas station after the suspect was accused of attacking a land surveyor with a machete.
In a news release, deputies with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said they were called after a land surveyor reported he was approached by a naked man with a “large machete-style” knife who demanded the victim’s clothes, wallet and phone.
Investigators told WFTV that Wright then took off, running into the woods and then driving away. Shortly later, deputies began receiving calls about a naked man outside of a gas station.
Deputies said that the suspect, identified as Brandon Wright, had been picking palmetto berries in the woods when he came out and attacked the victim, throwing both the machete and the berries at him. The victim was hit by the handle of the machete and was not hurt, deputies said in their news release.
One deputy responding to the call said that they remembered the suspect from an incident in August 2021, when Wright was accused of running around naked in the same area, WFTV reported.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office shared video from its helicopter on the department’s Facebook page, showing a naked man outside a gas station in DeLand. In the video, the man can be seen doing pushups and chasing after cars.
Deputies in the helicopter coordinated with the DeLand Police Department, leading officers to the gas station to arrest Brandon Wright. Wright was charged with multiple felonies, including attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, WFTV reported.
Wright has a lengthy criminal record, which includes prior convictions for kidnapping and battery on a law enforcement officer, deputies told WFTV.