Off-Duty Fla. Police Officer Shot, Killed by Clerk 'Having a Bad Day'
What to know
-
Edgewater Police Officer David Jewell, 45, was shot and killed Monday inside a Circle K in Ormond-by-the-Sea by a 24-year-old store employee.
-
The suspect confessed to shooting the officer multiple times in the head, telling investigators he was “having a bad day” and had argued with Jewell in the past.
-
According to family members, the suspect, who has no criminal record, had previously been diagnosed with mental health disorder..
“David Jewell, 45, walked into the Circle K around 4:08 p.m.,” the sheriff’s office said. “Machado, an employee at the gas station, is shown on surveillance footage walking out of the store soon after the victim walks in. Machado goes to his car to retrieve a jacket, then walks back into the store and shoots Jewell in the head multiple times, killing him.”
Machado “confessed to the murder” and revealed he had seen Jewell “in the store several times” but did not say if he knew Jewell was a police officer, officials said. He said the two men had argued in the past, but Machado “couldn’t provide any details about the argument,” authorities said.
“He did say he’d seen Jewell with a firearm in the past, and was afraid of him,” the sheriff’s office said. “The defendant said he was having a bad day on his drive to work, and thought about shooting Jewell earlier. When he arrived at work and saw Jewell, he used a handgun he recently purchased to shoot him multiple times at close range. He did not say anything to Jewell prior to shooting him.”
Machado has no criminal history, the sheriff’s office said. His family said he was “diagnosed with a mental health disorder in the past,” but did not have a history of “homicidal threats or anti-law enforcement ideologies,” officials said.
A gun believed to have been used in the killing was found in the back seat of Machado’s car, investigators said.
He is being held without bond and no attorney information is available.
Jewell was sworn in at the Edgewater Police Department in 2023, the sheriff’s office said. Prior to that, he worked with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office communications unit, WOFL reports. Edgewater is about a 30-mile drive south from Ormond-by-the-Sea.
“David was a guy that we could rely on for anything, never heard a bad thing about him, and he’s going to be a tremendous loss to the Edgewater Police Department,” acting Edgewater Police Chief Charles Geiger said at a media briefing.
Ormond-by-the-Sea is about a 65-mile drive northeast from Orlando.
____________________
©2025 Miami Herald.
Visit miamiherald.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.