A Philadelphia truck driver taking a mandatory break at a Florida gas station found himself in handcuffs Wednesday after a workplace disturbance call revealed he was wanted for robbery back home.
The incident unfolded on May 27th when Deputy Sheriff Wong responded to a reported disturbance at the RaceTrac convenience store located at 45119 US 27 in Davenport, Florida. According to law enforcement, a store employee called 911 to complain about a man inside the business who was actively confronting the staff and causing a scene.
Upon arriving at the gas station, Deputy Wong located the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Hakeem Jamal Copeland of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Copeland told the responding deputy that he was a commercial truck driver and was currently using the stop to complete a legally mandated rest break.
However, a standard background check on Copeland’s identification quickly changed the nature of the call. Deputy Wong discovered that Copeland had an active, outstanding warrant for his arrest out of Philadelphia for robbery.
Deputies took Copeland into custody without further incident based on the out-of-state warrant. He was transported to the local jail, where he remains held as a fugitive from justice pending extradition proceedings to return him to Pennsylvania.
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