INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A Melbourne man was jailed this week after deputies said he crashed a stolen BMW car while fleeing from officers at speeds greater than 110 mph. Deputies were notified of the stolen vehicle after using the sheriff’s Flock Safety License Plate Reading Cameras positioned along several roadways, according to Flock Safety Head of Public Relations Holly Beilin.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY FLOCK SAFETY
“This case shows the power of technology,” Beilin said of the cameras, which capture the vehicle’s make, model, color, license plate, possible damages and after-market changes. “The officers get real-time alerts to their smart phones, laptops or any type of electronics when a stolen vehicle or known wanted offender is detected.”
Keyshawn Miguel Bello, 19, was charged with high-speed fleeing and eluding, leaving the scene of a crash involving damage to property and resisting arrest without violence. Bello was held Saturday at the Indian River County Jail on $60,000 bond.
The Flock Safety camera notified deputies of the vehicle about 4 a.m. Tuesday, officials said. Deputies learned the silver BMW – which they said was stolen out of Cocoa Beach – was traveling eastbound on County Road 512, reports show.
When a patrol deputy followed the vehicle, the driver quickly turned around and traveled westbound.
“The vehicle then accelerated quickly and (the driver) turned off the headlights,” the deputy said in the arrest report.
Keyshawn Bello
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY BREVARD COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
As the deputy activated the emergency lights and sirens on the patrol car, the BMW driver continued to accelerate. Deputies said the BMW driver, later identified as Bello, ran a red light, passed two other vehicles at a high rate of speed and then drove onto the Interstate 95 northbound ramp.
The BMW crashed into a yellow traffic sign – which deputies said bent the sign in half – and stopped on the west side of the on-ramp shoulder, reports show. Deputies said Bello told them he drove off from law enforcement because he had several felony warrants out of Brevard County.
“Bello stated several times that I would not have been able to catch him if the vehicle he was driving had not run off the roadway,” the deputy said in the report. “Bello was laughing at the fact he believed he was out running a law enforcement vehicle.”
Bello was arrested and booked into the county jail. Bello has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. Sept. 15, court records show.
Flock Safety is a public safety operating system designed to allow communities and law enforcement to work together to stop crime and protect privacy, according to its website. The agency, founded in 2017, is headquartered in Atlanta but operates out of 40 states, Beilin said.
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office is the only law enforcement agency in the county that uses the Flock Safety technology, which costs $2,500 per camera per year, officials said. It was unclear how many Flock Safety cameras are being used in the county or if other local law enforcement agencies plan on purchasing the technology.