Trucking Crime Blotter - April 2018 - Spec On The Job

A rundown of trucking-related arrests, convictions, and crime news from April 2018.

April 15, 2018

On April 15, New York State Troopers arrested a tractor-trailer driver for DWI.

Troopers conducted a traffic stop on the driver on I-86 in the town of Hinsdale. According to police, Charles Kairu of Missouri showed signs of intoxication. Kairu submitted to a breath test which registered  a 0.15% BAC.

Source: NYSP News.com

April 18, 2018

A former Texas Department of Public Safety sergeant was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for accepting bribes from a trucking company in exchange for top-level inspection decals.

The Dallas-based trucking company paid the former officer, Kevin Gerard Cauley, at least $4,000 for favorable treatment. The company owner pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Source: Dallas News.com

April 19, 2018

An Amazon truck driver has been charged with “reckless driving: failure to maintain control” after a crash severe enough to trap her in her vehicle.

According to a police spokesperson: “Shirece Dabney, 30, of Richmond Va., was driving a 2014 International tractor hauling an empty box trailer. Dabney was traveling southbound and ran off road right and off of the right shoulder.”

Rescue crews spent about 45 minutes working to free the driver. Investigators said fatigue was considered a factor in the crash.

Source: WTVR.com

April 23, 2018

A Florida man has been sentenced to 9 years in state prison for filing more than $1.2 million in false insurance claims related to his long-haul trucking company.

Between July 2012 and May 2017, Alexei Legassov submitted more than a dozen fraudulent insurance claims for alleged losses caused by truck refrigeration units breaking down in transport. These break downs supposedly caused damage to fruits, vegetables, and frozen goods. According to officials, the cargo never existed or had not actually been damaged.

As part of his sentence, Legassov must pay $1,286,911 in restitution to two insurance companies.

Source: My Central Jersey.com

April 24, 2018

A truck driver is in serious condition after being stabbed multiple times in a dispute over parking at a Pilot Travel Center in Rio Rico.

Ahmet Gumoskaya was airlifted to a Tucson hospital. The suspect, Dereck Johnson of Orangeburg, SC, was arrested at the Pilot on a charge of attempted second-degree murder.

According to the sheriff, the motive was “a disagreement over parking of the tractor-trailers on the lot there.”

Source: Nogales International.com

April 25, 2018

A tow truck driver who responded to a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 890 ended up getting arrested himself.

A car hit a state Department of Transportation truck in a collision powerful enough to smash the car’s front end and crumple a collision barrier on the back of the truck. When the tow truck arrived on the scene of the accident, police ran his information, which is a standard practice. The inquiry revealed that he had an outstanding arrest warrant. Police declined to report what the warrant was for.

Source: Daily Gazette.com

April 27, 2018

A truck driver has been arrested in connection with a diesel spill last week.

Jaron Coleman was delivering fuel to a gas station on April 16. Coleman allegedly picked the wrong fuel the first time and decided to dump it into a storm drain behind the gas station.

Officials estimate that 2,000 gallons of diesel was dumped. It cost $1 million in cleanup and forced the evacuation of a nearby elementary school.

Coleman faces charges of criminal damage to property and egregious littering.

Source: WCTV.TV

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