Driver ‘forced to defend himself’ after attack, robbery on Nashville road
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — After flagging down Metro Nashville police officers to request medical assistance for his father Thursday, investigators said they realized a man seeking help was actually the suspect in a violent robbery.
Officers found 27-year-old Brayan Escobar and his father waving them down near the intersection of Due West Avenue and Gallatin Pike South on Thursday, May 2, according to an arrest affidavit. Once stopped, officers said they noticed his father had stab wounds to his abdomen.
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His father was taken to TriStar Skyline Medical Center, where Escobar gave investigators a statement describing how his father had been stabbed. In his statement, Escobar reportedly described an earlier interaction with a man near Roosevelt Avenue and Gallatin Pike North.
However, authorities said the other man told them a much different story. The man said he was pulling up to a stop sign on Roosevelt Avenue when a small silver sedan pulled in front of his truck and cut him off.
Two men, identified as Escobar and his father, then got out of the sedan and one of them tried to open the truck’s door, police reported. When the truck driver got out of his vehicle, he said the two men began assaulting him and “forced him to defend himself.”
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During the fight, one of the suspects reportedly picked up a large brick and threw it at the truck driver, striking him in the chest. While investigating, officers said they noticed a “large abrasion” on the man’s chest and several bruises on his body.
Authorities said the two men pulled the keys from the truck and tried to take the man’s wallet and phone but were unsuccessful. The man’s wallet and phone were found at the scene, but his keys were not.
Investigators said the struggle was captured on surveillance video from a nearby store and that the footage confirmed the truck driver’s version of the story. A witness that saw the fight while driving by also told police Escobar and his father were the primary aggressors.
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According to the affidavit, the truck driver admitted to defending himself with a 10-inch piece of rebar but said he did not believe he stabbed anyone.
Escobar was arrested and booked into the Davidson County Jail where records show he is being held on a $100,000 bond for aggravated robbery with a weapon or object. Jail records also indicate he is on an immigration hold.
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