Exclusive: Amazon Driver Describes Armed Hijacking In Miami Gardens

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MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami) -- "I got robbed by a man with a shotgun in his hands."

Those words from Amazon truck driver Arturo Ramos describe how a shotgun wielding bandit hijacked his panel truck as he was beginning his morning rounds before dawn this morning.

Just as he left the Amazon warehouse in Miami Gardens south of the Palmetto Expressway, Ramos said that he encountered a Jeep Cherokee stopped in the middle of the road and a man wearing a reflective vest, like the one he is required to wear, was standing by the car.

"What do I think? I think it's somebody that works here and needs help," Ramos said. "I stopped."

As he stopped, Ramos said he was approached from the rear by a second man.

"He had a handkerchief over his face. He said, 'Get out of the van.' When I didn't get out, he racks the shotgun and I realized I was being robbed," Ramos said. "I got out."

"The man with the shotgun jumps in the van and takes off and the other guy gets in the car and takes off too," Ramos said.

Police issued a BOLO for the stolen white panel truck that was leased by Amazon. It was found empty by Miami-Dade Police on the side of N.W. 13th Court near 137th Street.

Strewn all along the shoulder of the roadway around the van were bright colored plastic crates that had held about a hundred packages Ramos was to deliver.

Crime scene technicians were busy lifting fingerprints from the front driver-side door, rear doors and empty shipping containers.

The manager of the Amazon warehouse asked for the public to help in solving the armed hijacking.

"Say something if you saw it. Say something," said warehouse manager Peter Stevzewski.

Hours after the hijacking, Ramos remembered how fearful he was as he was face-to-face with a shotgun.

"I didn't want to run because I didn't want to give him my back," Ramos said. He wasn't going to allow himself to be shot in the back.

The two robbers are described as being men in their 40's or 50's. One wore a handkerchief mask over his face, the other with considerable facial hair.

It's believed they were driving a dark-colored Jeep Cherokee but the exact color is not known because the robbery happened in the predawn darkness.

Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).