This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It took Salt Lake City police just a few hours to end a downtown taxi cab robbery spree.
The first 911 call came in at 10:33 p.m. Friday, reporting that a male armed with a handgun and wearing a black bandana was approaching cabbies in the area of 300 South and West Temple, pointing the weapon at them and stealing their cash.
No one was hurt in the holdups.
The last of six such robberies occurred at 1:23 a.m. Saturday, and shortly before 2 a.m. police had the suspect in custody.
Officers got their break as they shadowed cabs in the downtown Salt Lake City area and noticed a white Mercedes following a taxi. The car, which appeared to have been in an accident that caused fender damage, was pulled over for having a defective tail light.
It turned out that the 25-year-old driver had an arrest warrant and was driving on a suspended license.
During an inventory of the car, police found a handgun with a laser sight as well as a bundle of cash hidden in the glove compartment.
The man remained in Salt Lake County Jail on Monday in lieu of more than $101,000 bail. He had been booked on six counts of first-degree felony aggravated robbery and misdemeanor counts of driving on a suspended license and retail theft.
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