BELTON, Texas — Testimony was wrapping up Thursday in the murder trial of Stanley Polk Jr., charged with the murder in August 27, 2015, stabbing death of Ronald Ruiz, 62, a truck driver from South Bend, Indiana.
Ruiz, who drove for Werner Enterprises, was Polk’s trainer.
Sgt. Robert McClinton of the Bell County Sheriff’s Department found and arrested Polk and it was recorded on his dash cam.
Polk stands accused of killing Ruiz at a rest area in Salado, Texas.
Polk reportedly stabbed Ruiz a total of 17 times in the chest, stomach and leg in his truck.
According to an arrest affidavit, police were called to the rest stop on Interstate 35 about 7 p.m. in reference to a man who had been stabbed.
When they arrived, officers said they observed Ruiz “bleeding from stab wounds on his chest and arm. Witnesses at the rest area were attempting to apply pressure to the victim’s wounds,” the affidavit said.
One witness described the scene immediately after Ruiz was stabbed, telling officers she saw the victim being held by the left hand and stabbed by another man inside of a Werner truck that the witness was parked next to.
The witness reported that the victim was yelling, “Help! Help!” after which the witness said Ruiz escaped and started to run.
According to media reports, Ruiz had warned Werner about Polk, telling company officials there was “something off about this guy” and “he really wanted him off the truck.”
Ruiz’s daughter told a Bell County television station that Werner advised Ruiz to “hang tight” until they arrived at their destination in Indianapolis, but the two would never arrive.
Police spoke to a witness at the rest stop “who stated that he was in the restroom at the rest area when he observed an unknown black male run into the restroom with blood on his hands,” the affidavit said. “The witness stated that the unknown black male washed his hands in the sink then pulled out a bloody knife and began washing the knife.”
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