Deputies name Whataburger shooter

CCSO: Matthew Aston, 28, shot, killed 22-year-old man outside restaurant

FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. – The Clay County Sheriff's Office has identified a man they say shot and killed a 22-year-old man outside a Whataburger on County Road 220 in Fleming Island.

Deputies said a decision has not yet been made on whether to file charges against 28-year-old Matthew D. Aston in the shooting death of Daniel Grady.

According to the Sheriff's Office, a case review meeting is scheduled for next week with the State Attorney's Office, during which detectives will present the information obtained so far in the case. The SAO will then make a decision regarding whether to file charges against Aston.

Deputies said about 2 a.m. Jan. 1, Aston was in his vehicle at the Whataburger drive-thru when Grady (pictured below), who was outside the vehicle, got into an argument with an unknown person in the vehicle. Police said Grady approached the vehicle as the argument continued, and Aston pulled out a firearm and shot Grady in the chest. 

Clay County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Daniel Riley Grady

When deputies arrived, several people were attempting to perform CPR on Grady and stopped when Clay County Fire Rescue arrived. Grady died at the scene.

Aston and his passenger drove home and called the Sheriff's Office to report the incident.

Eric Friday is a local gun rights attorney who said it's not a surprise that Aston was never arrested.

"Under the stand-your-ground law, the law says that police are not supposed to arrest anybody until they have developed probable cause that the shooting was not in self-defense," said Friday. "So they're complying with the law. Do your self-defense first then arrest somebody if there's anybody to be arrested."

As far as the two men involved, Grady had a criminal record with two arrests in the past few years for burglary and possession of a controlled substance. Aston had traffic violations and no felony arrests.

While it's uncertain whether Aston had a conceal carry permit, Friday said if the gun was in his vehicle he's not required to have one.

"In Florida, the self-defense laws are same as in your home," said Friday. "If someone comes to your car, you are allowed to assume they are there to do great bodily harm or kill you."

News4Jax has learned that Aston had intended to get married next month and works for a company in Jacksonville. Friday said Aston will now have to wait on the investigation to be completed, and may have to convince investigators that he felt his life was in danger and had reason to shoot Grady.

"You've got a situation where we've got, from what we know today, a person known as being a law abiding citizen and a person that has a history of committing burglary and being a felon," said Friday. "One person who's entitled to carry a gun and one person who's not."

News4Jax reached out to Aston by phone, but he said he has no comment on the case.


About the Authors:

Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.