Cabdriver robberies spree over, ringleaders arrested

It wasn’t an easy few weeks for Las Vegas cabdrivers.

Between Dec. 30 and Jan. 16, drivers were robbed, beaten and shot at in a series of seven robberies that police say were conducted by a brazen group of teenage gangsters.

The suspects were quickly identified by their style: One suspect would take a cab to a secluded area of the valley where other waiting suspects would ambush the driver at gunpoint and demand valuables.

But now the ringleaders are in jail with the robbery spree ended before any driver was seriously hurt or killed, Las Vegas police said. "This was something that came on our radar very quick," said Lt. Ron Fox, who oversees the department’s robbery section.

Police booked Nigel Hinton, 18, and Jamal Johnson, 19, on multiple counts of robbery and burglary with a deadly weapon related to the robberies.

Other suspects are expected to be charged, but Fox named Hinton and Johnson, both identified in police reports as Avery Park gangsters, as the main culprits.

"We are elated they got them off the streets," said T. Ruthie Jones, a representative of one of the two unions that represents cabdrivers.

"Our detectives were put to the test, and they rose to the challenge," Fox said.

Charges have been filed in three of the seven robberies, and police expect the suspects to be charged with additional felonies as more victims come forward.

Police will release booking mugs after photo lineups with all witnesses have been completed, Fox said.

"The investigation is coming to a close, but we don’t want to compromise anything," he said.

Although the first cab robbery was reported on Dec. 30, the first incident detailed in the arrest reports took place on Jan. 3 just after midnight.

According to the report, a cabdriver picked up a suspect later identified as Hinton, also known by his street name "Shagg," at a cab stand at Texas Station.

The driver took Hinton to an apartment building near Lake Mead and Jones boulevards.

Hinton asked the driver to turn into an alley. When the vehicle reached the middle of the alley, the car was ambushed by two men.

One suspect, who police believe was Johnson, pistol-whipped the driver in the face as Hinton and a third suspect stole more than $200.

The report said the driver heard Hinton tell Johnson several times to shoot him because he saw their faces, but Johnson didn’t fire and eventually the suspects ran away.

Both of the other robberies detailed in the report took place on Jan. 10 in broad daylight.

The first robbery happened about 11 a.m. when Hinton hailed a cab at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets mall, 875 S. Grand Central Parkway, and asked to go to 2901 N. Rainbow Blvd., the report said.

When the driver arrived, Hinton asked him to wait in case his mother wanted a ride, the report said.

When the driver saw a man approaching with a handgun, he stepped on the accelerator and raced through the complex with Hinton still in the backseat, the report said.

The shooter fired one round at the speeding cab, striking the left rear passenger door, the report said.

Instead of leaving the area, however, the driver stopped at the front of the apartment complex and locked Hinton inside the car until he paid for his ride, the report said.

Hinton eventually paid and was released, the report said.

The suspects got away with no money, but police don’t endorse that driver’s actions.

"We wouldn’t encourage any activity that puts someone’s life in danger," Fox said.

The final robbery detailed in the report took place about an hour after the botched attempt.

Police said a driver picked up a young woman at Texas Station and drove to 2115 Winwood St., near Lake Mead and Jones boulevards.

When the driver arrived, three suspects approached and a man, later identified by the driver as Johnson, brandished a submachine gun and demanded money.

The suspects took almost $200 in cash and also stole a cellphone and GPS, the report said.

The driver was not hurt.

The report said the suspects were identified through video and audio surveillance, but does not reveal specifics about the investigation tactics.

Fox put it simply: "Good ol’ fashioned police work," he said, laughing.

Ruben Aquino, the Taxicab Authority’s chief investigator, said the series of robberies concerned drivers and administrators alike.

"Indicators were this was a very dangerous crew, but also a very immature one to be doing this in broad daylight," Aquino said. "They would do a few in succession, take a few days to rest, and go right back at it."

Last March, 30-year-old cabdriver Tesfaye Arze was gunned down after a robbery in the northeast valley. Two women, Autumn Dawn Murry, 21, and Felicia Mosley, 18, were later charged with murder in his killing.

Aquino said he feared a similar result from this crew.

"They weren’t going to stop. In my mind, it was inevitable that shots would be fired, and God forbid someone was going to get hurt or killed."

Fox reiterated that more suspects had been identified, some of them juveniles.

Demetrius Black, known as "Meak Meak," was also identified in the report but has not been arrested, records show.

There also is the possibility that Hinton and Johnson may have committed other violent felonies across the valley, police said.

Johnson, who goes by "Scooby" and has a tattoo of a paw print on his left cheek and a number two on his right cheek, already has been hit with more charges since his initial arrest on Jan. 18.

He was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon after being accused of robbing two people during a party in a hotel room at the Plaza on Jan. 2.

Fox asked anyone with information to call the robbery section at 702-828-3591 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.