A Circle K clerk accused of fatally shooting an off-duty Edgewater police officer last year in Ormond-by-the-Sea is set to enter a plea and be sentenced at a hearing starting at 1:30 p.m.
Eduardo Labrada Machado, 25, was working when Edgewater Police Officer David Jewell stopped by the store Sept. 15, 2025. Jewell was off-duty, out-of-uniform and unarmed when he walked into the convenience store, according to investigators.
The clerk went out to his car and got a Glock. He then entered the store and gunned down Jewell, repeatedly shooting him, even after Jewell had fallen to the floor, according to reports.
Labrada Machado would have faced the death penalty if convicted at trial.
The News-Journal is live at the sentencing.
1:52 p.m.: Circle K cop killer will be sentenced to life in prison
The plea and sentencing for Eduardo Labrada Machado began at 1:30.
Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak said the state was waiving the death penalty and Labrada Machado would plea and be sentenced to life in prison.
1:48 p.m.: Circle K Clerk pleads ‘no contest’ in killing of Edgewater Police officer
Labrada Machado had previously been before the court without an interpreter but an interpreter was provided today to make sure there was no misunderstanding, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn said.
When asked whether he swore to tell the truth, he said he would.
“Lo Juro” he replied in Spanish, meaning “I swear to.”
He said he was 25 and graduated high school before ending his education.
He said his primary language was Spanish but that he understood English.
Labrada Machado said “si,” meaning “yes” he understood the rights he was waiving.
He answered “si” again when asked if he understood that he would be sentenced to life without parole.
He answered “si” that he took some medications, but the medication did not impact his understanding. He did not say what medications he was taking.
The judge asked him if he understood why he was in court today.
“Well today, they are giving me the new offer of the life sentence,” Labrada Machado said.
He said to get the life sentence, he was pleading “no contest.”
He said he was entering the no contest plea because he believed it was in his best interest.
1:43 p.m.: Labrada Machado is in the courtroom for sentencing
Eduardo Labrada Machado is now in the courtroom preparing to plea and then receive his sentence for killing Edgewater Police Officer David Jewell while he was off-duty at an Ormond-by-the-Sea Circle K.
1:24 p.m.: Edgewater officers, supporters enter the courtroom for accused cop-killer’s sentencing
Prosecutors originally sought death penalty against Labrada Machado
Prosecutors filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Labrada Machado.
The notice of intent listed two aggravating factors that prosecutors intended to prove beyond a reasonable doubt: that Jewell’s murder was “especially heinous, atrocious or cruel;” and the murder was “committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification,” according to the document
While the court record did not indicate the terms of the plea deal, it is unlikely that prosecutors would agree to anything but a life sentence for Labrada Machado in the case.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza’s office has previously agreed not to seek the death penalty in first-degree murder cases in exchange for a life sentence.
Family members, officers gather at Labrada Machado’s sentencing hearing
Members of the Edgewater Police Department are starting to arrive at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach for Labrada Machado’s sentencing hearing. Labrada Machado’s family members are also in attendance.
Circle K clerk had picked gun up just two hours earlier
Labrada Machado picked up the Glock pistol he used to kill Jewell just two hours before shooting the officer multiple times inside the Circle K store in Ormond-By-The-Sea, Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood previously stated.
Jewell walked into the Circle K just after 4 p.m. on Sept. 15 to buy some food, according to a report. Labrada Machado then got a gun from his vehicle and walked back into the store and shot Jewell multiple times, Chitwood said.
“He walks up behind David and fires multiple shots into David’s head,” Chitwood said. “When David goes to the ground, the gun jams. He stands over top of him, clears the gun, and then probably fires another seven or eight shots. There’s 10 or 12, 15, shots …”
Labrada Machado did not say anything to Jewell before shooting him.
Machado purchased the Glock model 20 10 mm pistol on Sept. 5, 2025 from Buck’s Gun Rack in Daytona Beach for $729 and picked it up earlier on the day of the killing, Chitwood said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: LIVE: Circle K clerk cop-killer will spend life in prison
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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