Three people were arrested after a traffic accident in Bay County

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – On Wednesday, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office arrested three suspects following a reckless driving incident.

Around 4 p.m., a BCSO officer spotted a man driving recklessly on Back Beach Road and Richard Jackson Blvd. According to a news release, the officer lost the suspect after a short pursuit through heavy traffic and the vehicle was found abandoned at a nearby apartment complex.

BCSO Air Unit, K9 Team and Drone Unit responded to locate the fleeing driver. The first officer also noticed someone matching the suspect’s description getting into a white vehicle with a woman.

According to authorities, officers determined that the owner of the vehicle was 30-year-old Rhasheem Campbell. When contacted, Campbell stated he did not allow anyone to drive the vehicle. In the vehicle, officers found the wallet and identification card of Riael Eathon John Leair, 29, which declared him to be the driver.

The white vehicle was later stopped by another BCSO deputy. The driver said she picked up Leair and took him to his job at a restaurant on the beach. Leair was subsequently arrested and initially charged with grand theft auto, fleeing and eluding, and driving without a valid license.

Subsequent investigations revealed that Leari’s friend Kevin Beckford, 22, helped him escape police. He was charged with aiding and abetting fleeing and eluding and aiding and abetting driving without a valid license.

Rhasheem Campbell, who was later revealed to be Beckford’s cousin, had allegedly lied to police about not allowing anyone to drive the vehicle. He allowed Beckford and gave Leair the keys to drive. Campbell was arrested and charged with making false statements to law enforcement.

The woman driving the vehicle did not lie to officers and was unaware that Leair was wanted by authorities, officials said.

All three were taken to the Bay County Jail.