A Florida man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally shooting a fellow truck driver during an argument at an Upper Bern Township truck stop in 2024.
Travis J. Pugh, 57, of Jacksonville was convicted of first-degree murder and related charges following a three-day trial in January.
He was found guilty of killing James A. Hilton, 40, of Southampton Township, N.J., during an argument at Love’s Travel Stop on Mountain Road on March 22, 2024.
On Wednesday, Pugh was sentenced by Berks County Judge Eleni Dimitriou Geishauser to life in prison followed by three to 10 years in prison.
According to police, the argument broke out while Hilton was helping another driver park his truck in the rear lot at Love’s. Pugh, who was not the driver being helped by Hilton, became angry and a heated argument erupted.
As the two men argued, Pugh shot Hilton.
State police were called to the scene at 2:48 a.m., and troopers issued a bulletin calling on law enforcement within a 99-mile radius of the scene to be on the lookout for Pugh’s tractor-trailer.
Troopers from the Fogelsville station spotted the vehicle about 20 miles east of the truck stop at the Interstate 78 New Smithville interchange in western Lehigh County. The driver was on the ramp heading westbound on the interstate.
State police followed the truck. They pulled over the driver as he was exiting at the Krumsville interchange and arrested him at 3:31 a.m., investigators said.