How do you hide a stolen pink semi-truck? Duo tried red spray paint, Florida cops say
It’s tough to easily hide a stolen Peterbilt semi-truck when it’s bright pink, but two suspected thieves tried their best by using countless cans of red spray paint, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office in Northeast Florida.
The ambitious plan might have worked — had it not been carried out in a Days Inn hotel parking lot along Interstate 95, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
“On Monday, January 30 ... a concerned citizen contacted FCSO Communications regarding two subjects spray painting a Peterbilt semi-tractor in the back corner of the parking lot,” the sheriff’s office reported.
“Upon the arrival of law enforcement, the male and female fled on foot into the wood line and began running southbound on Interstate 95.”
Deputies gave chase, catching the woman in minutes and the man two hours later.
It was then that investigators discovered the $280,000 semi-truck “had been stolen just hours earlier from Columbia County, Florida.”
“The semi-tractor’s original color is pink, and the subjects were in the process of spray painting the stolen semi-tractor to conceal its original color when deputies arrived,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The semi-tractor’s GPS had been disabled and removed but was found nearby in the woods.”
The suspects, who are from Tampa, have been charged with “resisting arrest without violence, grand theft-motor vehicle and felony criminal mischief,” officials said.
The 28-year-old man faces additional charges of possession of a removed vehicle identification number and possession of fentanyl, officials said.
“Thanks to another concerned citizen calling after ‘See Something, Say Something’ our deputies were able to ... recover a stolen semi and return it to its rightful owner,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in the release.
This story was originally published February 2, 2023 at 5:36 AM with the headline "How do you hide a stolen pink semi-truck? Duo tried red spray paint, Florida cops say."