Raymond Dwyer was walking to his car outside a West Palm Beach gas station on December 23, 2024, carrying cash to deposit at the bank, when a masked man in black clothing approached and shot him in the chest during a struggle. He lost about 1.5 liters of blood, spent several days in a medically induced coma, and underwent major surgery to remove a bullet from his lung. Nearly two years later, Dwyer says he still cannot go back to work, and the medical bills keep piling up.
“Someone approached me while I entered my car and shot me right in the chest,” Dwyer said, describing the ambush that unfolded outside the Marathon gas station on the 1800 block of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, according to WPTV. Dwyer had worked at the business for six years before the shooting, and he told the station the location where it happened still feels traumatic and surreal. He has since returned to that same parking lot, a moment WPTV reports left him shaken but determined to confront what happened there.
Police say the man accused of shooting Dwyer, 24-year-old Vinesh Ishwar Maharaj, had also worked at the business at some point. Investigators believe Maharaj targeted Dwyer because he believed Dwyer was carrying a large amount of money, according to police cited by WPTV. Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed the suspect waiting outside the business entrance before confronting Dwyer, and authorities later recovered cash and shell casings from the parking lot where the shooting occurred.
Tracking the Getaway Car and the Two-Way Radio
According to the City of West Palm Beach, police say the shooter fled in the passenger seat of a waiting red Jaguar sedan. Officers later located that vehicle, registered to Maharaj, on the 800 block of Brandon Prescott Lane and found a two-way radio inside. Police also found a firearm and live rounds about a half-mile from the parking lot, per WPTV.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Maharaj's cell phone that placed him at the gas station during the shooting, the city's account states, while surveillance footage captured him using a two-way radio as he waited for Dwyer outside the entrance. That combination of digital records and video evidence became central to building the case against him.
West Palm Beach police tracked Maharaj into Broward County before following him back into Palm Beach County, where officers executed a traffic stop on Interstate 95 on March 14, 2025, and took him into custody without incident. The U.S. Marshals Service and the Boynton Beach Police Department both assisted in the investigation, per the city's case summary. Maharaj now faces charges of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted robbery with a firearm, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and he has not yet gone to trial.
A Long Road of Surgeries, Therapy and Debt
Dwyer underwent major surgery at St. Mary's Medical Center, and bullet fragments remain in his body. He now suffers from chronic pain, headaches and post-traumatic stress disorder, and he told WPTV he has trouble sleeping. He can stand only for short periods before needing to rest, and he continues treatment with multiple specialists, attending psychotherapy, physiotherapy, neurology and cardiology appointments.
Dwyer has not returned to work since the shooting and is unable to work at all for now, relying on support from family members and living with his son. In July, he launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking $50,000 for living and medical expenses, writing that he had spent more than 25 years in the convenience store and gas station industry before the attack and remains unable to return to the job, according to his GoFundMe page. He has accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt.
Florida does offer some financial relief for violent crime survivors through the state's Crime Victims' Compensation Program, which reimburses eligible victims for medical expenses and lost wages under Florida Statute Chapter 960, according to the Louis Law Group. But those state benefits are capped, leaving a gap for survivors like Dwyer whose bills stretch into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dwyer has said he is leaving punishment decisions to the courts.
What Maharaj Could Face If Convicted
If convicted, Maharaj faces steep mandatory sentencing exposure under Florida's so-called 10-20-Life law. Florida Statute § 775.087 mandates a minimum of 25 years to life in prison for discharging a firearm and causing severe bodily injury during a felony, according to Musca Law. Separately, armed robbery with a firearm is classified as a first-degree felony punishable by up to life imprisonment under Florida Statute § 812.13(2)(a), per the state's official statutes database.
The shooting adds to a broader pattern of violent crime tracked in West Palm Beach. FBI crime statistics for 2024 show the city recorded a violent crime rate of roughly 575.8 per 100,000 residents, including 201 robberies and 10 homicides, according to data compiled by OpenCrime. For Dwyer, those numbers are secondary to the daily reality of recovery. “Things will never be the same,” he said.
