Coca-Cola driver forced to drive to ATM at gunpoint in Louisiana
ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - Police in Louisiana are looking for suspects involved with the alleged kidnapping and attempted robbery of a Coca-Cola driver. It’s also believed they are involved in the carjacking of another person a short time later.
The Alexandria Police Department said a Coca-Cola truck driver was briefly taken by two armed suspects early Wednesday morning.
KALB was told at around 5:30 a.m., officers responded to the 7400 block of Coliseum Blvd. for an attempted armed robbery at a restaurant parking lot on MacArthur Drive. The victim, identified as a Coca-Cola truck driver, said he was making a local delivery when two black males approached him and asked for a light.
One suspect allegedly pointed a gun at the driver and demanded that he drive them to the Sabine State Bank ATM machine on Coliseum Boulevard. The victim said he was forced to drive the two suspects in his Coca-Cola truck and they told him to take money out of his account through the ATM.
However, the driver’s bank card failed to work in the ATM machine and the suspects walked away.
KALB spoke to Mark Cowart, the sales center manager for the Alexandria location of the Coca-Cola plant, about the incident.
“Our number one priority is the well-being of our associate, and they are doing well, today. We are cooperating with the local law enforcement,” Cowart said.
Police said the second incident happened around 6:45 a.m. as they responded to a call about someone being battered in the 4400 block of Coliseum Blvd.
“About an hour later another person was driving along the service road going towards the Chevron, which is located toward Sabine State Bank,” explained Lt. Lane Windham with APD. “He saw two black males laying in the ditch, he thought something had happened, he got out of his car to approach them. the two guys jumped up, one of them pulled a pistol on him and the other one started to beat him, and hit him several times. They then left him on the side of the road and stole his vehicle.”
The stolen vehicle is described as a white 2007 Nissan Sentra, with aluminum-colored hubcaps.
APD believes the men in both incidents were the same suspects due to information gathered from both victims.
“The Coca-Cola driver, he never was hit or struck or anything like that, so he’s perfectly okay,” Lt. Windham said. “The second victim that was struck several times by one of the suspects, he’s okay also, of course, naturally, he’s shook up, but as far as sustaining a lot of damage, he didn’t.”
If you see the stolen vehicle or have any information about these incidents, you are asked to call the Alexandria Police Detective Division at (318) 441-6460, or APD Dispatch at (318) 441-6559.
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