Police released surveillance photos Friday that they hope will lead to the two men who robbed a cabdriver at gunpoint in north Minneapolis, a crime that occurred four days after another driver with the same company was shot and killed.
The photos were captured on a municipal bus the same day of Sunday's holdup and are of the suspect who was armed with a handgun, police said.
He is described as a dark-complected black man, clean- shaven, 5 feet 7 and weighing 180 to 200 pounds. He was wearing a black baseball cap, black letterman-style jacket with arm patches, blue jeans and dark blue deck shoes.
Police only have a "pretty vague" description of the other suspect, said Sgt. Stephen McCarty. Both are believed to be 20 to 25 years old, he added.
The Yellow Cab driver, Tekle Misgina, 41, of St. Paul, was assaulted shortly before 11 p.m. near 46th and Dupont Avenues N., but did not require hospitalization, the sergeant said. Misgina told police that he was robbed inside his cab and thrown to the ground. The suspects drove the taxi about a half-block before fleeing on foot with cash and the driver's wallet and cellphone.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information "vital to this case," police said in a statement. Anyone with information is urged to call 1-800-222-8477 or visit www.crimestoppersmn.org and click on "Give a Tip."
On March 14, Yellow Cab driver William Harper was fatally shot while stopped in his taxi near 400 23rd Avenue N. in Minneapolis. Samuel Johosephat Taylor, 20, of Robbinsdale, has been charged in the killing.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
