Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Alex Cabrero Reporting"You kind of have to have a sense, a sixth or seventh sense. You gotta figure out how they look."
Cab drivers in Salt Lake City are driving scared tonight after another armed robbery. Police say it's the third in the past month, all in the same area. This one happened outside the Cedar Point Apartments at 7th South and 4th East.
Driving cabs is similar to overnight gas station attendant when it comes to dangerous jobs. In this case the driver went to a call only to have the person he was supposed to pick up put a gun to his head.
Police always warn us about picking up strangers, but for cab drivers, it's their job.
Lt. Sandra Urry, Salt Lake Police Dept.:"Cab drivers are just hard working people. They carry very little money with them."
Which makes you wonder, why would somebody rob one?
Sandra Urry: “We’ve had three in the last four to six weeks.”
The latest happened early Thursday morning along 7th South and 4th East in Salt Lake City. A driver with City Cab had a gun pointed at his head as his robber ran off with his money. The robber just might be the same person who's done it before.
Det. Robin Snyder, Salt Lake Police Dept.: "It was the same MO. The cab driver was called to the scene, arrived, and was held up at gun point and robbed."
We tried speaking with the managers of City Cab about driver safety, but they didn't want to talk to us on camera. In fact, they didn't even want us to report on this robbery, saying it'll only entice future robbers to target drivers.
Robert Lowell: “You gotta be alert.”
But Robert Lowell, a driver with Ute Cab, wanted to talk. He says cab driver safety is an issue that shouldn't be ignored.
Robert Lowell, Ute Cab: "There's nothing we can do to make ourselves safe, other than our instinct."
Unlike police cars or taxi cabs in other big cities, there's nothing but air separating Lowell from his passengers. Cab drivers don't carry a lot of money, either.
Robert Lowell: “These people, they think they’re going to get rich, and all they’re going to do is ruin our day. It’s really not going to make them rich.”
Here's a description of the suspect, it's real general, but it's the same basic description in the other robberies. He’s a 23-year old man, 5 feet-7 inches tall, about 175 pounds, light brown hair and neatly dressed.
And that's the trick. Cab drivers say when someone is neatly dressed, they're not on guard, but this robber changes that.
