A Ft. Walton Beach man was jailed December 1 after driving 88 miles per hour on U.S. 98 across Pensacola Bay Bridge before fleeing at a high rate of speed into Gulf Breeze and eventually crashing into a brick wall. A passenger and third suspect were also booked as a result of the incident.
Gulf Breeze Police Department reports a traffic stop was initiated on Kevyon Tawain Jones, 19, who was stopped for speeding on the bridge.
Per GBPD, when the officer who initiated a traffic stop approached the vehicle, Jones drove off, turning onto Fairpoint Drive at a high rate of speed and crashing into a brick wall at Peakes Point.
Jones and his passenger, Angelle Leavelle, 18, reportedly fled the scene on foot. The two missing suspects finally came out of a wooded area after one of the officers located a phone number for Leavelle.
The suspects were taken into custody along with Jayden McLaughlin, 18, who told police he was in the area to visit a friend. However, McLaughlin did not know her address, and officers determined he was there to pick up the two suspects.
The trio of Ft. Walton Beach residents was booked into Santa Rosa County Jail and face the following charges:
Jones is facing a third-degree felony charge of flee/elude police; a second-degree misdemeanor charge of hit and run, leaving the scene of property damage; and a second-degree misdemeanor charge of operating motor vehicle without valid license. Jones posted a $3,000 bond and was released Dec. 3. He has a January 4 arraignment scheduled before First Judicial Circuit Judge Clifton Drake.
Leavelle is facing two first-degree misdemeanors charges of knowingly giving false information to police and resisting an officer without violence and a second-degree misdemeanor charge of permitting an unauthorized person to drive. She was released Dec. 1 after posting $2,500 bond and has a Dec. 21 arraignment before Santa Rosa County Judge Robert Hilliard;
McLaughlin is facing two first-degree misdemeanors charges of knowingly giving false information to police and resisting an officer without violence and a second-degree misdemeanor charge of accessory after the fact. He was released Dec. 1 after posting $1,500 bond and has a Dec. 21 arraignment before Santa Rosa County Judge Robert Hilliard.
