Truck stop robbed at gunpoint, suspects on run

HAYWOOD COUNTY, Tenn. — Deputies said they are searching for two suspects after a brazen armed robbery at a busy West Tennessee truck stop, Monday afternoon.

The exit 66 truck stop just off Interstate 40 was filled with people headed home on their afternoon commute when deputies said two men in hoodies and masks barged in, wielding a hand gun, demanding money.

“They removed the cash out of the register,” Haywood County Sheriff Melvin Bond said. “Then they handed the drawer right back to the clerk.”

Deputies said the two men fled the store on foot to a side road where they had a getaway car waiting. They would not get to far though because they realized the road was a dead end.

“We had witnesses tell us that the car fled down that highway,” Bond said. “Then they had to turn around at the dead end and come back out.”

Before turning around, investigators said the men may have ditched what they were wearing.

“We recovered masks, pants and other things that they had thrown out of their car,” Sheriff Bond said.

It is items like those deputies hope can help identify those responsible for this afternoon robbery.

“It’s a rare occasion but there were witnesses inside the store,” Bond said. “So we just hope we can put something together to apprehend these subjects.”

Deputies said the two men fled in a later model white Chevy Malibu or Impala. One was last seen wearing a pink hoodie while the other was wearing a white one. They are both described a tall and slender.

If you have any information about this robbery or may have witnessed something call the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office at (731) 772-6158.