An Army veteran says he’s thankful Gwinnett County Police were able to respond and recover thousands of dollars stolen during an armed robbery after he pulled over for a flat tire.
Rusty Fields says he had just pulled into a gas station on Buford Drive near I-985 early Friday morning when a stranger approached him.
“He stopped me and said ‘I’m stranded can you help me’ and I said ‘Look, I got problems of my own,’” he told Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson .
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Right after that, Fields says the man, later identified as Johnny Roque, 28, forced him onto his knees while he felt a gun pressed against his back.
“I could still feel that pushed into my back so he took my keys out of my pocket,” he said.
Hours earlier, Fields says he withdrew $12,000 from his bank with plans to deposit it into another account.
He still had the money on him in an envelope during the robbery.
“The one I didn’t want him to get was that bank envelope in my other pocket,” he said.