Robbers Tie Up Trucker, Steal Wine

Three men tied up a truck driver and took his trailer, escaping with about $3,000 in bottled wine, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

The victim was at a brake-check area on the southbound Golden State Freeway in Pyramid Lake about 3 a.m. Thursday when the men approached him from behind, said Det. Victor Lewandowski of the Sheriff’s Santa Clarita station.

Lewandowski said one of the men, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, told the truck driver, “Get in and shut up.” The truck driver climbed into the back of his truck, and the robbers bound him with duct tape.

They parked the truck in front of a store on San Fernando Road in Sun Valley, hooked the 53-foot trailer to another truck and drove off, leaving the trucker behind, Lewandowski said.

The owner of the store became suspicious about the truck. He saw the driver tied up inside and screaming for help about 11:40 a.m., more than eight hours after he had been abducted, Lewandowski said.

No suspects have been arrested, and authorities have no witnesses.

“I can’t tell you the last time this happened here,” Lewandowski said. “I don’t know if they were looking specifically for wine, or in this case, they just get what they get.”

The missing trailer is white, with blue-and-green-rimmed tires, and the numbers “258” and “216” on the front driver’s side. The California license plate number is 1W55573.

Anyone with information should call the Sheriff’s Santa Clarita station at (661) 255-1121.