A 67-year-old truck driver is being held without bond in the Orange County Jail after authorities say he shot a coworker during a heated argument outside a south Orlando warehouse, then fled north on Interstate 95 before being tracked down and arrested hours later in coastal Georgia.
David Lee Crump, whose primary residence is listed in Charlotte, North Carolina, was arrested in Glynn County, Georgia, following the August 26 shooting near Boice Pond Road in Orlando, according to Action News Jax. Crump had reportedly arrived hours late for a shipment drop-off around noon that day when the confrontation began. A witness told investigators they saw two men arguing in the warehouse parking lot, and according to the arrest affidavit, Crump placed his hands around the victim's neck before the altercation escalated further.
While early headlines described the case as a murder charge, formal court records show the Orange County Sheriff's Office actually charged Crump with attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, as reported by WFTV. Deputies and the affidavit indicate the warehouse employee was shot once in the arm and survived. Witnesses reportedly told police the suspect punched the victim first, and the victim punched back, before Crump allegedly said, “I'll kill you,” and fired the gun. Witnesses reportedly captured videos and photos of the confrontation, which were turned over to investigators.
A Three-Hour Dash Up I-95 Ends With a Felony Stop
After leaving the warehouse, Crump allegedly contacted his third-party contracting firm, which then used real-time GPS telematics on his semi-truck to track his route north through Jacksonville and into Georgia, alerting police to his location, according to the affidavit cited by Action News Jax's sister outlet, WESH, via NextNews. On August 26 at approximately 4:11 p.m., a Glynn County Police officer spotted Crump's vehicle traveling northbound on I-95 near Mile Marker 34 after a Florida BOLO alert went out, and Georgia State Patrol executed a felony traffic stop at Mile Marker 38, per the Glynn County Police Department.
Glynn County sits roughly 200 miles north of the Boice Pond Road warehouse district, placing Crump about midway along the primary interstate corridor toward North Carolina when he was apprehended — meaning the commercial trucker very nearly made it out of Florida and well into Georgia before the net closed. The rapid, real-time collaboration between the trucking contractor's fleet-tracking system and law enforcement across two states allowed officers to intercept him just a few hours after the shooting was first reported in Orlando.
Held Without Bond Ahead of Next Week's Hearing
Following his extradition back to Florida, Crump made an initial appearance in Orange County court on September 4 and remains held without bond, according to the Orange County Clerk of Courts. He is scheduled for another hearing on September 10, after having been processed into the Orange County Jail system following his transfer from the Glynn County Detention Center.
The charge Crump faces carries significant weight under Florida law. Attempted second-degree murder does not require prosecutors to prove Crump intended to kill his coworker, only that he committed an imminently dangerous act reflecting what state statute characterizes as a depraved mind without regard for human life, according to the Law Offices of Eric M. Matheny. Because the affidavit indicates a firearm was discharged during the offense, Crump also faces exposure under Florida's “10-20-Life” law, Florida Statute § 775.087, which imposes a mandatory minimum 20-year prison sentence upon conviction, per the Florida Senate.
Whether Crump's defense will pursue a self-defense argument remains an open question, given witness accounts describing a mutual exchange of punches before the gun was fired. How that argument, if raised, might interact with Florida's rigid mandatory minimum sentencing for firearm discharge could shape any plea negotiations as the case moves toward its September 10 hearing.
