Trucker, female friend face mountain of charges, including rape
The Trucker News Services
5/29/2008
CARYVILLE, Tenn. — A Detroit truck driver and his female companion — both of whom reportedly are convicted sex offenders — have been arrested in Caryville, Tenn., for allegedly raping and beating a woman hitchhiker.
Caryville is on Interstate 75 northwest of Knoxville.
Caryville Police Chief Bill Widener said Wes McKinley, 54, and Melinda Diane Morris, 43, of Sacramento, Calif., are charged with aggravated rape and attempted criminal homicide after the Tuesday incident.
McKinley also faces charges of drunken driving, driving on a suspended license, failing to update his log book, failing to prevent cargo from shifting, failure to maintain control of a commercial vehicle, failure to have a medical card and two counts of having unauthorized passengers.
Widener said McKinley initially gave authorities the name “Primus Byrd,” the same name that appeared on his commercial driver's license. Morris gave officers the surname of Franklin and also uses Robinson, Widener said, but authorities were able to ascertain her real name is Morris.
"That's why we'll be bringing additional charges of criminal impersonation," the chief said Wednesday.
McKinley and Morris were being held in the Campbell County Jail pending a June 3 arraignment, Widener said.
The chief said McKinley had been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on a sex offense and was released in September 2006. Morris has previous convictions of child molestation, Widener said. She also has a history of charges of making methamphetamine, selling needles, theft, assault and credit card fraud, he said.
Widener said the incident began to unfold shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday. Caryville Police Department Detective Stephanie Smith responded to the Shell station on State Highway 116. At the station, Smith found the "severely beaten" victim, according to Assistant Chief Johnny Jones.
The victim told Smith she had escaped from McKinley's truck after being beaten and sexually abused by the trucker and Morris.
She said she pretended to be unconscious from the beating, and McKinley and Morris "began engaging in sexual acts upon each other," allowing her to open the passenger door and slip out, according to Jones.
Jones said the alleged assailants tried to grab her and pull her back into the truck, but she fled to a nearby truck and sought help from another trucker in the parking lot of the defunct Christmas Tree Inn. That trucker, Jones said, rejected the victim, who then ran to the locked doors of the inn.
(Editor's Note: What's your reaction to the trucker who rejected the victim? Click here to e-mail us your thoughts.)
The victim said McKinley tried to hit her with the truck as she fled. She then sought help from occupants of a nearby pickup truck, who directed her to the Shell station.
As Smith spoke to the victim while awaiting an ambulance, Widener and Caryville Police Department Officer Freddy Walker encountered the truck at a traffic light. McKinley then made the next right turn that carried him toward the Twin Cove Boat Dock and a subdivision.
While Widener made note of the truck, he was not at that time searching for it. Widener said McKinley traveled about five miles from the scene of the assault before wrecking.
"He didn't know where he was going and got on a narrow road and up on a curb and turned his trailer over," Widener said.
Residents reported the wrecked rig on Ridge Road at 6:14 p.m., the chief said.
When officers arrived, McKinley returned from a wooded area where he had run to and Morris was found in the truck, apparently suffering from a broken arm, Widener said. McKinley, who suffered no injuries from the crash, was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center for an alcohol/blood test. Morris was taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries, Jones said.
McKinley was hauling a load of pork roasts from Illinois to Greeneville, S.C., Widener said. He said McKinley picked up both women recently in Detroit.
