An Ohio truck driver is facing felony charges in Laramie County after Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers intercepted a stolen semitrailer after a high-speed chase on Interstate 80.
Murodilla Jaynakov was arrested on December 21 after a multi-mile chase that began after law enforcement identified a Vanguard trailer reported stolen from a Nebraska truck stop earlier that day.
The investigation began when a trooper received a notification that a trailer outfitted with a GPS tracker had been stolen from a business in North Platte. The trooper located the vehicle near milepost 379 on I-80 and determined that the California license plates matched the description provided by the owner. Because Jaynakov did not speak English, instructions to proceed to a nearby Port of Entry for a commercial check were passed via a passenger, Eshmurod Mamurov.
Despite the passenger’s acknowledgment, the vehicle drove past the Port of Entry exit. The trooper then activated the emergency lights and sirens, but the semi drove west for almost 4 miles before coming to a halt near milepost 369. During the stop check, officers noticed inconsistencies in the truck’s paperwork and cargo.
Mamurov said the pair was transporting a load from Maryland to Idaho, but the suspects’ bill of lading did not match the trailer’s door seal. The suspects claimed to be towing an Amazon trailer and offered images of a blue-branded load, but the trailer hitched to the truck was plain white. Mamurov eventually informed troopers that they had misplaced their original trailer during an oil change stop and decided to use the white trailer because they couldn’t find their cargo.
The Vanguard trailer costs between $6,000 and $12,000. Jaynakov was placed into the Laramie County Detention Center on felony theft charges and a misdemeanor charge of failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. The law presumes him innocent unless he enters a plea or is proved guilty in a court of law.