According to the police, the owners of the truck were inside the gas station when someone came to ask them why their partner could not drive.
They were surprised when they realized neither of them was in the vehicle they had let run.
At the time, the owners of a lorry of vehicles clung to their property, which seconds before had been stolen from a Pilot service station in Medley on Thursday morning.
Officer Luis Rivera, spokesman for the Medley Police, said
“The owner managed to break the window of the truck and an altercation started between them and they managed to get them out of the truck.”
Authorities say the drivers of the vehicle, believed to work locally, became aware of the theft after someone asked them why they were driving their truck erratically, but they weren’t inside and left it spinning while they were pumping gas.
After reaching the suspect, everything turned violent. The altercation was picked up by the mobile phones of several witnesses who were near the scene.
The two owners and others severely beat the subject identified as Exon Gonzáles Caceras, 24, who was tied by the hands and feet until the police arrived.
“Another who ended up being a victim first was a witness, he tried to help the victims using his own car, but the subject accelerated the truck and crashed the truck into that vehicle,” Rivera explains.
At the time, police said the defendant nearly ran over three people, but luckily none of the victims were injured.
Gonzáles Cáceres now faces charges of robbery, aggravated assault and grand theft of vehicles.
Officials say the young man has an extensive criminal record that includes multiple robbery charges in Miami Dade and Broward counties.
California truck driver Victor Figueroa says:
“The reaction that the owners or drivers of this truck had to me is valid because you shouldn’t be doing this”
Other drivers who are staying in the same car park where the incident happened tonight say they are worried.
According to estimates, “a truck of this typically costs around $180,000.”
A large sum of money that gives them a lot of responsibility in addition to the fear of losing the cargo they bring back from other states.
California truck driver Rumualdo Almeida says:
“First time coming here to Miami, we had never heard of this kind of situation before, well, that worries me a bit.”
This incident is still under investigation and it is not yet known whether the victims will face charges. The accused remains under arrest in TGK prison.