7 men arrested in recent truck stop robberies facing new charges

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — Channel 11 has new information on seven men that were arrested for truck stop robberies across western Pennsylvania.

The men are now facing new charges in connection to the incidents.

One of the suspects told police they all worked together for Big John Movers. He also said they weren’t robbing anyone, just “gambling.”

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Police say the men were doing face-to-face scams, telling drivers they won the lottery for $50,000 and wanted to give money away to truckers, even saying television news crews were coming out to film it.

Multiple victims told police the same story. One man said one of the suspects asked how much money he had in his wallet, saying he would double it.

Instead, the suspect grabbed the money.

Drivers we met at a Washington County truck stop on Wednesday said they would have been skeptical.

“That is just crazy. Me, myself, I’d be like, ‘Mmm, you’re going to match my wallet, you couldn’t match it anyway!’ I’d be like, ‘No, I’m good,’” said Trai Rule.

We’re learning more about some of the victims who were scammed and robbed.

One couple said they stopped at a rest area to let their dog out, and they were approached by the men, who said they just won the lottery and were handing out $100 bills. A woman told police one of the men ripped her necklace from her neck and her ring from her finger and took off.

A man from Tennessee said he had nine rings on his hands. When he stopped at the rest area, the men ripped all nine rings off his fingers.

The men were caught when police pulled over their vehicles in Harrisburg, and police said each of them had thousands of dollars. According to court documents, Adam Smith and Robert Murphy had the least amount of money, around $1,700 each. Darrell Noel had the most, at more than $8,000. The other four suspects each had about $2,000.

11 News reached out to Big John Movers in Cincinnati, Ohio. A woman on the phone told us they had no jobs in the western Pennsylvania area and no comment on if the men worked there. The men are all in the Westmoreland County Jail.

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