By Julia Daye
The Charlotte Observer
COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. — A man stole a semitruck hauling high-end sports cars in order “to get home” from prison, Arizona authorities said.
A deputy pulled over a tractor-trailer carrying ten Chevrolet C8 Corvettes, valued at over $1,250,000, on Feb. 15, according to a Cochise County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The driver from Oklahoma had stolen the truck, and upon questioning, told the officers that he had done so only because he had just gotten out of prison and needed a means of transportation home, according to the release shared on Facebook.
But there was more to the story. According to the sheriff’s office, the man had assaulted the rightful driver of the vehicle shortly before being seen driving it.
The 23-year-old suspect had struck up a conversation with the driver at a truck stop about 85 miles east of Tucson, officials said. The victim told authorities the suspect had asked him about his expensive truckload and lured him into “a sense of security,” authorities said.
When he was climbing back into his truck, the suspect grabbed him and threw him out of the cab, taking off with the massive load, the sheriff’s office said.
When a deputy caught up with the vehicle, the driver did not at first respond to emergency lights and sirens, authorities said.
He then began driving the stolen truck recklessly, the sheriff’s office said, causing other drivers to pull off the road. He eventually stopped and was taken into custody.
He was booked into the Cochise County Jail on several felony charges, including Robbery, 11 counts of theft of means of transportation and felony theft.
“The stolen vehicle was safely recovered without damage and was released to the driver so he could continue his delivery,” Willcox Police Department Chief Dale Hadfield said.
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