Teen girls with knife rob Minneapolis cabbie, steal vehicle

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: March 4, 2009 - 12:22 PM

Two teenage girls robbed staged a cabjacking in south Minneapolis, robbing the driver and fleeing in his vehicle only to be caught the next day soon after holding up another cabbie, police said today.

The girls, ages 17 and 15, are jailed and face felony charges, according to police records. Police are withholding their identities because they are juveniles. No one was injured in either robbery.

The first incident occurred Monday about 6 p.m., police said, when the girls stole money from the cabdriver for Latino Americano Express Taxi and fled in the vehicle.

Antonio Martinez, the cab company owner, said the girls were picked up in the 3100 block of Minnehaha Avenue. "The ladies called for service from the Target [nearby]," Martinez said. "The ladies had a plan."

The girls took the driver's money, then left the cabbie behind and fled from E. 56th Street and 32nd Avenue S. in his vehicle, Martinez said. The cab, a minivan, was later recovered undamaged.

The girls held up another cab late the next morning, also in south Minneapolis. Police found the two not far away, and they were identified by the driver as the two who robbed him.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482