Former cabbie sought in robbery, carjacking

Jen Lawson

Friday, Aug. 8, 2003 | 9:29 a.m.

Authorities were searching this morning for a former cabdriver wanted in connection with four armed robberies, including a carjacking of a taxicab and a robbery of a passenger.

Wagnaw Asagre Getahun, also known as Kevin, may be driving a Nellis cab, police said. Officials worry that he could be trying to pick up unsuspecting passengers.

"He's still got the cab as far as we know," Yvette Moore, administrator of the Nevada Taxicab Authority, said this morning. "Since he did this once, there is some threat to the public."

The first robbery occurred about 2:45 a.m. today at an adult entertainment establishment in the 3100 block of South Industrial Road, Investigator Art Lindsay said. Afterward, the suspect flagged down a Nellis cab on Industrial Road near the Stardust and asked the driver to take him to Mandalay Bay.

When the cab reached Interstate 15 and Russell Road, the exit for Mandalay Bay, the suspect forced the driver at gunpoint to continue south on I-15, authorities said. At I-15 and Blue Diamond Road, the suspect ordered the driver out of the cab, got behind the wheel and drove away, authorities said.

The suspect, driving the stolen Nellis cab, picked up an unsuspecting passenger in the area of Silverado Ranch Road and Maryland Parkway, Moore said.

He pointed a gun at the passenger and stole an undisclosed amount of money, then made the passenger get out of the cab on I-15, Lindsay said. Because of a language barrier, Lindsay was not able to determine exactly where the passenger was forced out of the cab.

The suspect then drove the cab to a Chevron gas station in the 2200 block of East Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson and robbed it about 4:30 a.m.

Lindsay said Getahun worked as a cabdriver from 1998 until about a month ago, when he was fired. Lindsay declined to say which cab company he worked for.

Investigators with the Taxicab Authority and officers with Metro and Henderson Police are searching for the suspect. Because the suspect might try to flee the state, Moore said, officers have notified authorities at Hoover Dam.

The suspect may be driving a cab bearing the number 500 and Nevada license plates 500-NEY. It is a blue and white 2001 Lincoln Town Car.

Anyone with information on the robberies or the whereabouts of Getahun are asked to call the Taxicab Authority at 386-6532, Metro or Henderson police.