$10,000 reward offered in shooting death of trucker

The Trucker News Services

2/28/2008

TAMPA, Fla. — A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of whoever shot and killed trucker Roger Earl Lee at a warehouse here at 4:40 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22.

Tampa Police Department spokeswoman Andrea Davis said Lee, 65, had removed his shoes and probably was taking a nap while waiting to deliver 26 pallets of bleach at the Clorox Products Manufacturing warehouse at 3601 East Columbus Drive in Tampa.

Clorox and Lee’s company, National Freight, have contributed $5,000 each to the reward fund.

The windows in Lee’s truck were down, Davis said. She said his wallet was open and that its contents had been strewn about the cab.

Lee, a resident of Nicholls, Ga., arrived at the warehouse shortly after 4:30 a.m., but a security guard told him deliveries were not accepted until 8 a.m., Davis said.

Lee then returned to his truck and, moments later, the guard heard a shot punctuated by screams for help, Davis said. Lee ran toward the guard and collapsed.

Detectives have scrutinized the surveillance video from businesses around North 36th Street and East Columbus Drive for clues leading to the identity of Lee’s killer.

Lee was married for 40 years and had two grown children, including Chad Lee, 37, who said his father had worked for National Freight for about 10 years.

The younger Lee said in a telephone interview that he often worried about his father driving long distances.

“I wanted him to quit,” he said. “I never thought that he would die this way. ... He was a gentle man, a good man. He never hurt nobody.”