Driver of wayward missile truck had suspended license

BEAUMONT, Texas (CNN) -- The truck driver who abandoned his tractor trailer loaded with four dummy missiles had his commercial driver's license suspended indefinitely in March, according to the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles.

The department report comes less than 24 hours after Ronald Dean Coy of Middletown, Ohio, was arrested at a truck stop Friday in Orange, Texas, near the Louisiana state line. The arrest ended an exhaustive search by FBI and local authorities for the truck, which went missing Thursday.

A court appearance on a charge of wire fraud was scheduled for Saturday. Authorities told CNN late Friday that Coy was being taken to Atlanta for processing by the FBI, where they said he could be charged with theft of government property and theft of interstate shipment.

The truck and missiles, valued at $150,000 each, were found intact at a lumber yard more than 350 miles away in Ranger, 110 miles west of Dallas.

The Houston Chronicle, citing sources familiar with the search, said Coy spent all his cash, then called his contractor, Cheetah Transportation Co. in Colorado Springs, Colorado, seeking more money.

But when the company refused, he abandoned the truck and cargo, apparently unaware of what he was hauling and hoping to find another load elsewhere, the Chronicle said.

"It wasn't a sinister plot," a source told the newspaper. "It was just goofball."

But an Air Force official, asked if Coy was planning to steal the dummy missiles, told CNN, "It sure looks that way."

Also, sources told CNN that Coy called his company claiming the truck had broken down and he needed cash to fix it. Witnesses said the truck appeared to be fine.

Related stories:

• Truck carrying dummy missiles found; driver arrested - April 25, 1997
• FBI searching for truck bearing unarmed missiles - April 24, 1997

Related sites:

• USAF Web Server at Cannon AFB - maintained by the 27th Communications Squadron, located at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico
• AGM-130A Missle Fact Sheet
• Welcome to Camp Pendleton - Web site provided as a public service by the Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton Public Affairs Office.
• Texas Department of Public Safety
• FBI

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