
A truck driver was robbed at gunpoint while asleep in his cab in Georgia earlier this week.
The incident occurred on Monday, February 12th, in the middle of the night at Interstate 75 and Highway 116 in Butts County, Georgia.
According to the Butts County Sheriff’s Office, the truck driver was parked and resting in the sleeper berth of his rig in an empty lot behind a Chevron used for truck parking over flow when two men burst into the truck and pointed a gun at his chest. The two men then demanded the trucker’s wallet and credit cards, forcing him to give up his PIN number, before fleeing the scene in a red 2015 Kia Sportage.
“He [the trucker] wakes up to it,” said Investigator Johnnie Bryson.
“The victim unintentionally left his truck door unlocked. Two people climb inside of his truck. He opens the curtains and he’s held at gunpoint, gun to his chest. They ended up taking one of his debit cards and his whole wallet and his cell phone,” Bryson said.
The two men then visited two ATMs, withdrawing a total of nearly $900, and were captured on surveillance video at a nearby convenience store. Police describe the two thieves as “one very tall suspect and his shorter accomplice.”
“He [the suspect] appeared to be every bit of 6″5′,” said Bryson.
Investigators say that they expect the two men to strike again and are urging truck drivers to use extra caution when bedding down for the night.
Reporters from Georgia’s local Fox 5 news spoke to several truck drivers in the area, who shared their advice for staying safe in a semi.
“Always check your surroundings, lock your door. Don’t open your door for nobody who’s knocking,” driver Joseph Copeland said.
Another truck driver, Victor Henderson, told reporters that he always keeps a bible in his truck.
“It’s this thing about getting in a truck in the morning, you don’t know if you’ll make it home or not it’s about keeping God first,” he said.
The identity of truck driver who was robbed has not been released, but it is known that he lives in South Carolina and was not injured in the incident.