Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Florida Deputy Murdered by Man with AK Rifle After Trying to Help Him

Episode Date: December 20, 2024

Charlotte County Deputy Elio Diaz pulled over a driver on December 15 for a suspended license. Diaz tried to help Andrew Mostyn get his insurance reinstated for more than an hour so he wouldn't have to tow him. Mostyn ended up shooting and killing Diaz. Deputies later shot and killed Mostyn. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through the heartbreaking incident in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple podcasts or Spotify. A funeral procession through a small Florida city for a beloved sheriff's deputy murdered by a homeless man. He tried so hard to help. I have the heartbreaking case of the death of Sergeant Elio Diaz and how he's being remembered. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Sergeant Elio Diaz was a devoted sheriff's deputy and a father in Charlotte County, Florida. That's on the west coast north of Fort Myers in a city called Ponta Gorda. I've actually been there a few times and it's a pretty quiet place.

Diaz was doing his job on Sunday, December 15th, when his life was taken in an instant by a man he was actually trying to help. Diaz wasn't trying to throw this man in jail or anything like that. He was trying to do the exact opposite. The sheriff explained what happened as Sergeant Diaz pulled over a man he would later learn was named Andrew Mostyn. So it started on Sunday just after three o'clock. Sergeant Elio Diaz was traveling northbound on the 41 bridge in Punta Gorda. He ran the tag of a white pickup truck and the tag came back with an FR suspension on the driver.

An FR suspension is known as a financial responsibility, which is also another words for there was no insurance on the vehicle, which means they either didn't renew it or they never had insurance on the vehicle. Sergeant Diaz followed the truck as the driver complied and pulled into a gas station. The truck pulled into the gas station in the harbor. Elio pulled in behind him and initiated a traffic stop. Now, the encounter with the suspect in this case was cordial. Elio was actually out with him for over an hour. He found out and

realized that this individual was homeless and he was living out of that truck. And Elio was working with him to try and contact the insurance company to try and get his insurance reinstated so we would not have to tow that truck and all the property that was in it because his entire life was in it. So Elio was in his car doing what he needed to do. And like I said, it was over an hour later. So Sergeant Diaz, for more than an hour, tried to help this man who was homeless living out of his truck so he wouldn't have to tow his vehicle. What happened next is so upsetting and absolutely shocking. At that point, he got up out of his car and approached the shooter.

He called out to him, at which time the individual reached into the truck, pulled out a rifle, and opened fire on him. And as Elio fell, he took a couple more steps forward and fired at him while he lay on the ground. We know that he fired at least ten shots and Elio was hit multiple times. We won't have all the exact until we have all the forensics and the pathology report back. At that point, the shooter fled in his truck. There was absolutely no reason for this person to shoot at Sergeant Diaz, which should have been a somewhat routine traffic stop. And a lot of law enforcement officers will tell you there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop turned into a search for a cop killer.

And my investigators did an outstanding job with tracking his. Tracking his travel. During the time he stopped, he switched out his tag from the Florida tag that was on it to a Georgia tag. He also put on a ballistic vest. The ballistic vest had armor with level three steel plates in both the front, back, and sides. About an hour later, the vehicle was spotted at Popeyes as Corporal Nate Edwards was driving by Kings Highway. He immediately called for backup and Deputy Andrea Short was the first one to respond and both Nate and Andrea pulled up to the vehicle and immediately drew their weapons and ordered the driver to show his hands.

The driver failed to do so. Here's some dash camera video of when the deputies found Andrew Mostyn in the parking lot of that fast food restaurant. The truth is on. Sheriff's office, show me your hands! Step out of the car! Step out of the car and show me your hands! Step out of the car! Step out! Step out of the car Step out Step out of the car

Show me your hands I can't see your hands Show me your hands Stop moving Put your hands! Stop moving! Put your hands up! Show me your hands right now! I can't see his hands! Put your hands up! Your call has been updated. The cases I cover each day here on Crime Fix show you just how scary the world can be. And one of the scariest things that can happen is if you ever get hurt. But I want you to know if you are ever seriously hurt or if you're in an accident, your case could be worth millions. And that's where our sponsor,

Morgan & Morgan, comes in. The firm has an army of more than a thousand lawyers who will fight for what you deserve, and they have the track record to prove it. In the past few months, Morgan & Morgan has won big verdicts like $12 million in Florida, $26 million in Philly, and $6.8 million in New York. All were much higher than the highest insurance company offer. Seeing if you have a case can be done in eight clicks or less, and you don't even have to leave your couch to start one. Also a great thing, you only pay Morgan & Morgan if you win. There are no upfront fees. So if you're ever hurt, you can easily start a claim at ForThePeople.com slash CrimeFix. The driver did not comply. Deputies continued to order him to get out of that truck. Step out of the car right now!

Bro, I can't see your f***ing hands see your hands now. I froze the video there. A deputy actually fired because they said that the driver pulled his rifle. There's another view from a deputy's body camera that shows the encounter. Back up. Get out of the car. Get out of the car. Show us your hands! Now! Now!

Put your hands up! Now! Put your hands right now! Put your hands up! Neither can I. Put your hands up! We need a unit to come behind this subject and go through the drive-through side.

We can't see his hands. Put your hands right now! Let me see your hands now. Shots fired. Shots fired. Was that you? You're good. I need someone with a shield. It's a dog. I think it's a dog. Deputies then went to the truck where another camera recorded the truck. A dog was inside and they found a rifle. Stand by. Stand by.

You got a shot? The sheriff broke down. Runner, you have the accounts for the round. Brick a shame. Got it? The sheriff broke down what you just watched. And at one point, he made an overt movement, and Deputy Andrea Short fired a single round into the truck, striking the shooter. As other units arrived, they were able to safely approach the truck

and enter it and were able to remove him. When they opened up the truck, the rifle that was later determined to be used in the murder of Elio Diaz was lying in his lap within his hands. The actual overt movement that Andrea saw was him lifting the rifle up. Andrea, who was also a registered nurse, immediately began life-saving efforts along with other deputies. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital where he later died. The sheriff said Andrew Mostyn's rifle had 18 rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber. Inside the vehicle,

the sheriff said they found hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two gas masks, loaded magazines, and two more rifles. It appeared as if Andrew Mostyn was ready for a firefight. The firearm that he used was a Rome Arms SAR-1, which was lying in his lap, and he used 7.62 rounds, which were full metal jacket. Also found, like I stated, he was wearing a ballistic armor vest. The vest also contained pouches with a loaded magazine, as well as a trauma kit and a med kit. We found additional magazines and ammunitions on his person and inside the vehicle. The one in the vest was fully loaded and there was one on the

dashboard that was partially loaded. In addition, we found other weapons to include a crossbow, a bolt-action rifle .22, a semi-automatic rifle with scope of 5.56, and, of course, the SAR-1. He also had two gas masks. The vehicle search also concluded well over 1,000 rounds of various caliber ammunition and two gas masks. Now what we found out about the firearm is

this firearm was initially purchased back in Pennsylvania back in 1999. From what we can tell is that firearm was later traded to a dealer out of Orlando but we have not been able to confirm that yet. And we are not sure how he got a hold of these firearms. Now, there are a lot of questions. Why was this man armed and wearing an armored vest ready to take on sheriff's deputies? And who is he? He was reported missing in March. Montgomery County Police in Maryland put out this missing poster asking for information about Mostyn, saying he was last seen on March 30th, driving a white 2000 Ford F-150 with Georgia registration. The license plate number was RYH 3051, and Mostyn was driving toward Washington, D.C. His criminal history is actually minimal. It's all out of Georgia. He had a couple DUIs, possession of marijuana, and an obstruction charge.

They did have a well-being check for him out of Pennsylvania, and he later checked himself into a facility in Georgia. From what we've learned from the mother, she said that he self-medicates and also becomes manic, that he uses hallucinogens, which we did find packets of mushrooms in the vehicle. Right now we do not have any evidence that he was under the influence.

Again, we're gonna have to wait for toxicology to come back to find out if there was anything in his system. And we have not been able to confirm any official diagnosis of mental health issues at this time. Everything we're getting, we're getting from family members. His mother also stated that the shooter had a dislike toward law enforcement due to an alleged past trauma incident with his dad as a child and harbors resentment toward law enforcement because he feels that they did not protect him. The sheriff is obviously frustrated and he's incredibly angry.

He was asked by a reporter about mental health issues that moston had and his family and friends being aware of that and a possible lack of services well you know it's no secret of all the work that i try and do in the mental health realm and i've been working with our legislators to get some legislation passed and to make our system of care better for everybody. But, you know, people need to take some sort of responsibility. Family, friends, they believe he's got a mental health issue. They know that he's taking drugs, but they sat on their ass and did absolutely nothing. They knew he had weapons. They did absolutely nothing. They knew he had weapons. They did absolutely nothing, and this was the result.

People need to speak up. Elio Diaz was laid to rest Friday at a funeral service. His daughter spoke about her father remembering her beloved dad. On July 15th, daddy was given to us and put on this earth. And on December 15th of 2024 is when everything was taken away from my family and I. Daddy is my best friend, my first love, my role model, my biggest supporter, my protector, and my forever superhero. Daddy is my everything. He is my king and I am his princess. As his daughter, along with my older sister, he raises us and continues to raise us to be nothing but strong and fierce and to not take anything

from anyone, to be determined and to be as humble as Daddy is. I am very fortunate enough to experience the world through his eyes, the eyes that are filled with an endless amount of kindness, wisdom, and a deep, deep love for all of those around him. My daddy has a way of making everyone feel seen, heard, and valued. but he shows the whole world what it is to not just be a father, but a man, a husband to my mom, a son, a true friend, and a true brother to all. Daddy also shows the importance of family, the power of perseverance, and the beauty of a life lived with purpose. And not a lot of kids have the privilege of growing up and seeing what true love is between their parents. To be able to say and know how much they loved one another through anything

and everything. Just absolutely heartbreaking and so unnecessary. That's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.