Murder suspect tries carjacking 18-wheeler and gets shot by trucker, AL cops say

Truckers have a reputation for being tough, and a fleeing murder suspect learned it the hard way when he got shot while trying to carjack an 18-wheeler along Interstate 65, according to investigators in coastal Alabama.

It happened Sunday, May 18, in Baldwin County, and the suspect took a bullet to the leg, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office said in a May 20 news release.

Mike Thomas, 28, was captured the next morning on foot, with the help of tracking dogs, the sheriff’s office said.

“The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office assisted in a vehicle pursuit that began in Conecuh County, Alabama, with a wanted murder suspect out of Georgia who had already fired shots at pursuing officers,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Deputies were able to spike the vehicle’s tires, bringing the chase to an end. The suspect then ran from the vehicle and attempted to car-jack an 18 wheeler, striking the driver multiple times in the head and face with a pistol. A passenger in the 18 wheeler fired several shots at the suspect, who then jumped off the truck and ran into the woods.”

A SWAT team was activated, tracker dogs were summoned and an air unit from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency was called to help search the woods, officials said.

Thomas was captured about six hours later, around 5:45 a.m. Monday, with “a gunshot wound to his leg, presumed to have occurred during the attempted car-jacking,” officials. Details of any charges were not released.

The vehicle pursuit began when the Evergreen Police Department tried to stop Thomas and he fled along Interstate 65, WKRG reports.

Thomas is from Stockbridge, Georgia, and is wanted in connection with a homicide reported in East Point, Georgia, according to WXIA.

Baldwin County is just east of Mobile, on the state’s Gulf Coast.

This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Murder suspect tries carjacking 18-wheeler and gets shot by trucker, AL cops say."