If you’re wanted by the police, it might not be a wise decision to broadcast your exploits as evidence on YouTube. Sound advice right? Well apparently Ford Mustang enthusiast, Beau Alan Rogel missed this memo, with Fox News reporting that the Mississippi native was recently arrested for precisely that sort of scenario.
The crime: driving over 185 mph on a public highway outside of Jackson, Mississippi. The evidence: a YouTube Live video shot by the driver. The verdict: dumb decisions in the deep south abound.
Plowing his way to speeds in excess of 190 mph, Rogel shows viewers the ferocity found within his wife’s 2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350, shouting speeds along the way and blasting past commuters. Three minutes in it seems like Rogel is about to make another pull, when it all goes pear-shaped, and Mississippi’s finest descend upon the suspect.
Reports of a “dangerous stunt” taking place on the highway had summoned the fuzz, causing the Rankin County deputies to approach the Ford Mustang with caution. After grilling Rogel about his motives, and him explaining that he didn’t have a driver’s license on his person, but a picture of it on file, a series of back-and-forth questions ensue.
Miraculously, the cops eventually agree to let Rogel off with a warning, instructing him to either park the Shelby GT350 or take it to a drag strip. It was not until later that the local police discovered that Rogel had several felonies on record that they decided to review the only evidence left available to them: the man’s YouTube video. Paired with a handful of social media posts showing Rogel brandishing weapons, as well as eyewitness accounts of him driving his wife’s white Ford Mustang GT350 at extreme speeds, and investigators had enough evidence to search Rogel’s home.
Upon arriving at the house, police report that Rogel’s wife attempted to interfere and was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, while her husband was taken into custody without incident. Charged with reckless driving and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Rogel’s bond was set at $20,000, which upon payment allowed him to remain out of prison prior to his trial by grand jury.
Since his now famous encounter, Rogel has posted multiple YouTube videos, including ones where he is seen retrieving the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 from police impound, and confessing things that probably should go unsaid. The latter of which appears to be adding fuel to an already raging fire too, as Rogel continues to incriminate himself via his use of social media.