A truck driver was robbed after stopping to check his rig on a Louisiana highway on Friday.
According to police reports, the trucker had just left a nearby Casino in Lake Charles and was headed north on La. 397 when a motorist flashed his rig and warned him that there was a piece of metal hanging from the back of his truck.
The driver pulled over on an on-ramp to Interstate 10 westbound to check his truck. When the driver walked to the back of his vehicle, the motorist left his Dodge Charger, pulled out a handgun and demanded cash.
The driver was able to flee the scene on foot and hitched a ride from a passing vehicle back to the casino, according to local news station KPLC-TV.
Police reviewed the Casino’s surveillance cameras, and discovered that the suspect entered the back parking lot earlier that day, where several 18-wheelers were parked, and followed the victim’s rig when he left.
The suspect was arrested at his place of employment the following day. He was identified as 21-year-old Ronald J. Perrault III, of Lake Charles. Police found the trucker’s phone and a bag of marijuana in Perrault’s pockets during the arrest.
Police say Perrault also threw a chair at a wall as he was being questioned by detectives.
Perrault was charged with armed robbery, armed robbery with a firearm, criminal property damage, and possession of marijuana because. His bond has been set at $457,000.
The truck driver’s name has not been released. He was not injured.