Two women accused of brazen armed robberies
New Orleans, La. - United Cab President, Sheree Kerner knows just how dangerous it can be for cab drivers.
"My brother was murdered last year, so that's all that is on my mind. I'm concerned about all of the guys," says Kerner.
She's especially worried about what happened to three of her own cabbies, who were held-up at gunpoint, threatened and robbed Thursday morning.
Around 3:15 in the morning, a United Cab driver arrived in the 2300 block of Chippewa to pick up a fare. Police say an African American woman wearing a black dress got inside.
"It was at that point when the perpetrator then raised her purse and claimed that she had a gun and demanded cash from the driver,' says Sgt. Sabrina Richardson.
They say the driver handed over his money. Then, the woman told the cabbie to get into the trunk of the vehicle. The woman drover the cab around, then stopped, opened the trunk and demanded that the cabbie hand over his cell phone.
"The victim stated that he didn't have a cell phone. She threatened the victim, brandishing an obvious handgun and told him she would blow his head off if he didn't give her his cell phone. The victim then informed the woman, again, he didn't have a cell phone," says Richardson.
Police say eventually, the woman got the cabbie out of the trunk and told him to drive to Jackson and Chippewa where she took off on foot.
As police investigated that incident, another United Cab was dispatched to the 500 block of Adele to pick up a fare.
They say an African American woman, different from the first perpetrator, hopped into the car, pulled out a gun and demanded money from the cabbie.
"He then gives her the funds and she tells him to drive to an ATM machine," says Richardson.
They ended up on in the 3200 block of Magazine Street at the Liberty Bank, where they say the woman forced the cab driver to use the ATM.
"She then has him drive off and they get to the 900 block of Toledano Street where there was a separate cab picking up another fare, but this cab was just sitting in the street waiting for his fare to come out," says Richardson.
Investigators say the woman walked up to that cab driver, pulled out her gun and demanded cash. At the same time, the cabbies' fare was walking up and the woman, they say, robbed him at gunpoint too.
In all, no one was hurt.
Police now are looking for two women, who committed separate, very brazen armed robberies.
