Woman takes ex-husband’s truck, steals Good Samaritan’s car
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
An Atmore woman remained in the Escambia County (Fla.) Jail March 21, charged with taking her ex-husband’s truck without his permission, driving it until it ran out of gas, then abandoning it and stealing the car of a man who stopped to assist her.
Toni Marie Gibson, 27, of a Red Eagle Drive address, is charged with one count each of vehicle theft, battery (for an altercation with another inmate) and a “general statute” violation. Escambia County Jail records show her total bonds on the first two charges to be $7,500. There is no bond listed on the general statute charge.
Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office reports show that Gibson was staying at her ex-husband’s residence on March 3. He told ECSO deputies he went to bed around 11 p.m., then awoke at 10 a.m. March 4 to find Gibson, and his truck, gone.
He said he tried to call his ex-spouse, but her phone had been disconnected. He told lawmen that Wind Creek Casino was probably where she was headed, but deputies who checked the property came up empty-handed.
According to reports, Gibson returned to her ex-husband’s residence around 7:30 that night and told him his truck was “either out of gas or in the shop, somewhere along I-65.”
Gibson was driving a Kia Soul when she returned his keys and his debit card. She explained that it belonged to a man who had stopped along the interstate to help her when he came upon the stranded truck.
The man told officers he called 911, then left his car running as he tried to slow traffic until emergency personnel could get there. When an Alabama State Trooper arrived, Gibson ran to the car of the man who stopped to help her, jumped in, and took off.
She was arrested; her ex’s truck was towed to David’s Paint & Body in Atmore, and the Kia was returned to its owner.