A Florida teen has admitted to shooting a Lyft driver in the back of the head after he made comments about the juvenile being drunk while underage.
Brayden Raul Gomez, 17, was charged with murder in connection with the “execution-style” slaying of 64-year-old William Robert McArthur last Saturday.
Bay County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the shooting at around 2:24 a.m. at the intersection of Wildwood Road and Emerald Cove Street and found McArthur dying on the street.
“A witness stated they observed a man flee the scene and scale a fence, firing as he fled,” police said.
“The suspect ran into the Woodlawn neighborhood. Deputies and investigators began an intense search of the area. The suspect was quickly identified as 17-year-old Brayden Raul Gomez, a resident of Bay County. Gomez was located on Dorothy Avenue and taken into custody.”
Gomez was arrested at his mother’s home. He allegedly led deputies to garbage cans where he dumped the crime weapon and confessed to the murder.
The teen said McArthur was driving him to his destination when he made comments about him being underage and drunk, adding that the teen’s mother was “sorry.”
Gomez considered the remarks “disrespectful”, pulled a firearm from his waistband, and fatally shot McArthur in the back of the head.
The teen said he pulled the victim out of the vehicle and tried life-saving measures before fleeing the scene.
