‘Ice Pick Bandit’ strikes Gurdon truck stop twice, causing thousands in damages

By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com

GURDON, Arkansas — En route to Little Rock from Grapeland, Texas, a trucker named Clewis stopped off at South Fork Truck Stop before dusk on Tuesday, Sept. 24, to rest for the night. Though he had only about 80 miles to go, the permit for his load wouldn’t allow him to finish the trip in the dark.

At some point in the pre-dawn hours, Clewis was jarred awake when he felt his 18-wheeler shake. Unaware of what caused it, he checked his mirrors, catching a glimpse of someone walking away. Thinking little of it, Clewis returned to slumber in his sleeper cab. It would be after the sun rose Wednesday that he and about 20 other truck drivers would find themselves stuck in the vast parking lot, most of their tires flattened.

Another driver, from Alabama, was expecting to pull out first thing Wednesday morning when he realized that all 18 tires on his truck and trailer had been flattened overnight. Yet another truck driver, hauling passenger vehicles, awoke to find not only his truck tires were flat, but also the tires of the vehicles on his trailer.

It would be the second time in recent days that truckers at South Fork Truck Stop were victims of this criminal mischief. The culprit or culprits — it isn’t known how many perpetrators are responsible for the act — have been poking tires nationwide, most recently at interstate truck stops between Hooks, Texas, and Cedar Grove, Tennessee.

The crimes have left law enforcement baffled and cost trucking companies tens of thousands of dollars in damages. The Alabama driver estimated it would cost about $12,000 to replace all 18 tires on his truck.

On the morning of Sept. 17, approximately 35 tires on a total of six trucks were flattened, totaling an estimated $28,000 in damages, according to a report at the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Dubbed by truckers as the Ice Pick Bandit, the perpetrator’s method of attack is using a handheld tool to puncture the sidewalls of tires, leaving irreversible damage. Some authorities believe the Ice Pick Bandit is a trucker himself.

Aside from the money loss from damages, the incidents are causing valuable time the truckers could be on the highway. The Alabama trucker told The Arkadelphian that it would take about three hours to replace all the tires on his tractor-trailer. By Wednesday afternoon about a dozen mobile truck service crews were busy at South Fork, swapping out new tires for the flattened ones.

Clark County Sheriff Jason Watson said his agency is working with multiple other agencies to identify the suspect and solve the crimes.

“We don’t know if it’s a disgruntled employee or if it’s a truck driver that drives this route,” Watson said. As for a possible motive, the sheriff said it’s “just pure spite. It’s horrendous how much he’s costing these trucking companies.”