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Gene Kennedy and Andrew Adams reporting This is a somber day for the staff at the Sapp Brothers truck stop. Yesterday, a customer shot and killed a security guard.
The truck stop reopened this morning. One employee told Eyewitness News off camera there was a flood of emotions all morning. We managed to catch up with a customer who learned about the security guard's death from us.
The customers are back and the pumps up and running. It appears business as usual, but only on the surface.
Tolina Tausinga frequently went to the Sapp Brothers truck stop and knew security guard Verne Jenkins. "He was cool. He was about his job and making sure the parking lot stayed safe. He was good," she said.
The man who police arrested for shooting Jenkins was also a frequent customer at the truck stop. Salt Lake City police told Eyewitness News today that Roger Malcolm tried to buy a pack of gum, and then started mouthing off to employees--saying they weren't helping him fast enough. When Jenkins went to assist a clerk, Malcolm allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Jenkins in the neck.
Malcolm lives only a half mile from the truck stop, and Tausinga happens to live three doors down from him. "When I did see him, he wasn't the friendly type. He didn't really wave," she said.
Malcolm is in jail now on suspicion of murder. Court documents show he faced misdemeanor charges back in 1999--battery, disturbing the peace, and threats against life--all in connection with a domestic violence incident. However, the charges were dismissed, and the court ordered Malcolm to complete mental health treatment.
Employees at the Sapp Brothers truck stop say Malcolm was a regular customer and was often belligerent.
