Non-domiciled truck driver arrested after calling police to investigate broken side mirror

A non-domiciled truck driver was arrested in Wyoming last week after calling police to help investigate a broken side mirror on his semi truck. 

The arrest happened the first week of February in Green River, Wyoming at the Love’s Travel Stop along Interstate 80. 

According to Cowboy State Daily, truck driver Vazha Gelashvili parked at the Love’s and went inside to take a shower. When he returned to his truck, he noticed a broken side mirror and asked a truck stop employee to review camera footage. That employee told Gelashvilli that a police officer needed to be present in order to check the footage. 

When an officer arrived, he checked Gelashvili’s “legally issued commercial driver’s license from the state of New Jersey” and determined that the non-domiciled CDL was not valid in the state of Wyoming. That officer then detained Gelashvili and contacted ICE to place an immigration hold. 

It was later determined that the vehicle that damaged Gelashvili’s side mirror left the scene before he noticed the damage, and that Gelashvili’s dash cam was not working at the time of the incident. 

“It is unclear at this point where Petitioner’s [Gelashvili’s] truck is located at and if a criminal investigation is open over the damaged truck mirror,” court documents read.

A representative of the Sheriff’s office says that Gelashvili did not present documentation proving his lawful presence in the US. Back in July, Wyoming passed a law stating that an out-of-state license given to an “unauthorized alien” is not sufficient proof of lawful presence in the US. 

Gelashvili is now in ICE custody, and the DHS has denied his request for release.