BCSO requests ride audio from fatal shooting of Lyft driver
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – Bay County Sheriff's deputies responded to the intersection of Wildwood Road and Emerald Cove Street around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
They found William McArthur's body in the middle of the road, his car about 100 yards away.The car had a Lyft sign on it, so they called the company.
Lyft provided the name of McArthur's last passenger, 17-year-old Brayden Raul Gomez. But deputies said Lyft did not provide all of the details that could have helped.
Teen confesses to fatal shooting of LYFT driver in Panama City Beach: BCSO
'They did give us some information that really assisted in the investigation in a very timely manner. But there was some crucial information that they did not provide and made us jump through hoops to get that could have resulted in somebody else getting hurt,' Bay County Sheriff's Office Capt. Jason Daffin said.
Deputies said the record shows McArthur picked up Gomez at a Front Beach Road business and was taking him to the Woodlawn area.
Gomez allegedly claimed the two got into an argument and he shot McArthur in the back of the head. Authorities said Gomez also claimed the gun was not his.
'He claimed that the individual left it at his house and he just took ownership of the firearm. So we're still running down some of that information to figure out how the 17-year-old ended up with a firearm in his possession to commit this offense,' Daffin said.
As for the argument, Gomez allegedly told investigators that McArthur pointed out Gomez was intoxicated and underage, that he would amount to nothing, and called his mother 'Sorry.'
'The statements that the victim may have made, none of that is confirmed at this time. This is just coming from what Gomez told us happened. I just want to make that clear,' Daffin said.
But if there was an argument, there could be a recording. Lyft has an audio recording policy that allows drivers and riders to record inside the vehicle.
'We're going to try to recover that because we want to be able to look at Mr. McArthur's family and say this is exactly what happened and give them. So they know what the last few minutes on this earth of their loved one, what that looked like, what transpired, so that we can help them with closure,' Dafffin added.
Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for McArthur's widow, Lynn McArthur. To donate, click .
Investigators arrested Gomez around 10:00 a.m. on Saturday at his mother's home on Dorothy Avenue.
They said he took them to a garbage can in Woodlawn where they found the murder weapon.
Gomez is in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, charged with an Open Count of Murder.
The State Attorney's Office is reportedly waiving him to adult status.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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