Hemet Cab Driver Rams Robbery Suspect With Taxi

HEMET (CBSLA.com) — A Hemet cab driver targeted in an apparent armed robbery used his driving skills to take down the suspect with his taxi, police said Friday.

Officers received a call shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday morning from the driver who said that he had just been robbed at gunpoint in the 200 block of Downen Street, according to Hemet Police Lt. Eric Dickson.

The incident occurred after the cabbie picked up the suspect - who was later identified as 33-year-old Hemet resident Wayne Morgan - in the area of Palm Street and Florida Avenue, Dickson said.

He told the driver to take him to Downen Street, where Morgan then ordered the cabbie to stop, brandished a firearm and demanded money, according to Dickson.

When the driver complied, Morgan walked toward the rear of the cab, at which point the driver put the vehicle in reverse and struck Morgan with the vehicle, knocking him to the ground, Dickson said.

The cab driver then got out of the vehicle, took the firearm from Morgan and called the police, said Dickson.

Police responded to the scene and found Morgan laying in the street unconscious, according to Dickson. He was transported to a local hospital and is expected to recover, he said.

Investigators later determined the firearm to be a replica firearm, Dickson said.

Morgan faces charges of robbery, defrauding an innkeeper, and violation of probation.