Posted on 10/10/2005 10:26:46 AM PDT by neverdem
Gwinnett police on Friday arrested a man they characterized as a would-be hijacker who tried to commandeer a tractor-trailer idling in traffic.
Unfortunately for him, said officers, he chose a truck whose driver was armed.
Police said Cesar Iban Santoyo Pantija, 23, jumped into the cab of a tractor-trailer traveling north on I-85. It was about 11:30 a.m., and traffic had come to a stop just south of Indian Trail Lilburn Road, police said.
According to investigators' reports, Pantija told the driver, Christobal Colon of Auburn, "You have to take me out of here."
Colon, 43, said no. Police said he told the intruder to go back the way he'd come in --- out the passenger side door of his truck. Pantija ignored the order, Colon told investigators, and moved closer to the driver. Colon reached for a handgun and showed it to Pantija, police said. He also repeated his order: Get out.
Pantija told Colon that the driver had two choices: drive Pantija away, or shoot him.
Colon had a third choice, and took it.
He got out of his truck, gun and truck keys in his hands, according to reports. Police said Pantija moved into the driver's seat, saw a set of spare keys and tried to start the truck. Colon reached into the cab and yanked Pantija out. Then Pantija began to chase the armed driver around his big rig, police said.
Colon circled his truck, jumped back into his seat, threw the machine in gear and drove away, police said. He also dialed 911.
Pantija was "highly intoxicated" when officers arrived on the side of the interstate, according to reports. Noticing a car parked nearby, officers surmised Pantija either had been in a motor vehicle accident or his car had broken down.
Either way, he wanted to put some miles behind him, police spokesman Darren Moloney said. "We think the man was trying to avoid a DUI by getting the heck out of Dodge," he said.
Pantija got as far as the lockup in Lawrenceville. Police charged him with simple assault, hijacking, having an open container in a vehicle, driving under the influence and having no operator's license.
I guess that would make him a member of the Pantijahadeen, wouldn't it?
An Armed Citizen ~ Is A safe Citizen!
Lucky he didn't get his head blwon off!
Can we give him a Darwin Award honorable mention. He tried really, really hard to get into this year's competition.
HUH??? If I were armed and he tried to "chase" me, I would either shoot him or pistol-whip him. I certainly wouldn't give him the opportunity to "chase" me. I guess he's lucky he tried this $#!+ in Georgia and not Florida. Maybe the Brady people will warn Pantija not to travel to Florida, where such a situation would surely escalate to his getting his stupid little arse shot.
The driver should have driven him to Florida, declared him a threat, and shot him.
It would have been much easier to just shoot him in the kneecap.
Anyone care to bet that this guy is an illegal?
The driver wasn't arrested and he was...Nope, he's not an illegal. Now if they had arrested the driver...you'd know he was an illegal.
I move that this day be set aside every year in honor of Christobal Colon!
What? Another "gun beats stupid" article?
If I ever have to point my .357 at a carjacker, the next thing that's likely to happen is a large BANG. The truck driver was really polite to the creep.
Mr. Colon apparently soon recognized his intruder as more of a nuisance/headache than a genuine threat, and managed to protect himself and his property without further harm.
Reading this I almost picture Mr. Colon and his 'assailant' in a ludicrous sort of Chinese Firedrill around the traffic-locked truck, with the driver simply trying to keep the slobbering semi-coherent fool from getting his hands on the gun ... and hoping he'll just go away!
The scene I imagine in my head is nearly comical, except for the slight threat that the moron might actually somehow manage to take the gun away from the responsible adult.
I think you're about 512 years too late! :)
Make that 513....
Spell check didn't catch that typo!!!
This story turned out well. But never, ever pull a weapon unless you intend to use it. The truck driver was lucky beyond measure........
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