Lawrence Cabbies On Alert After Armed Robberies
LAWRENCE (CBS) - Many cabbies in Lawrence are scared after a string of armed robberies there. All of the hold-ups seem to have a link to one neighborhood.
Even though the paycheck is smaller, veteran cabbie Fermin Gonzalez now works strictly days.
"It's just too dangerous," says Gonzalez. "I did night-shift for 14 years."
His logic made perfect sense recently when four Lawrence cabbies were robbed after dark in a 10 day span.
One driver was robbed of $180 in fares along with his wallet, GPS, and cell phone.
In each case, the cab would be dispatched to Brook Street, where the would-be fare got in, produced a knife or gun and held it to the driver's head or throat.
Brook Street is where a gunman sprayed a house with bullets last week, grazing an 11-year-old girl.
Liberty Cab has many legit customers in the neighborhood, folks comfortable with the company's Spanish speaking cabbies who are now hesitant to make night trips there.
Fermin Gonzalez sizes-up his would-be passengers carefully, fully aware that looks can be deceiving.
