Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2003 | 11:08 a.m.
A former cabdriver suspected in a series of robberies and kidnappings in the Las Vegas Valley surrendered Monday night in Los Angeles, authorities said.
Wagnaw "Kevin" Getahun, 38, was being held without bail this morning by the Los Angeles County sheriff's office on an arrest warrant issued by the Nevada Taxicab Authority. When Getahun turned himself in, he had a car stolen from a northwest Las Vegas man, police said.
Homicide detectives are investigating whether Getahun has any connection to a man found dead Monday afternoon in the back seat of a cab in the parking lot of a steak house on the Strip.
"The possibility (that it could be connected to Getahun) hasn't escaped us," Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said. "Certainly, we're keeping all our options open."
Authorities had not released much information about the death this morning.
The man was found dead about 12:30 p.m. Monday in a Western cab parked in the parking lot behind Smith & Wollensky at 3767 Las Vegas Boulevard South.
The victim's identity was still pending this morning, a spokeswoman for the the Clark County coroner's office said. Coroner's investigators planned to examine the body today. Authorities were not saying if the victim is a cabdriver.
Getahun's alleged crime spree began early Friday morning. Police believe he carjacked two cabs, robbed an unsuspecting passenger who flagged him down, stole a gun from an adult-oriented business and robbed a man there and held up a gas station clerk.
Sunday afternoon, Getahun allegedly kidnapped a man from his home near Rancho Drive and Craig Road and forced him at gunpoint to drive through the city for close to an hour.
A warrant was issued for Getahun's arrest Monday.
Yvette Moore, administrator for the Taxicab Authority, the state agency that investigates taxicab-related crimes, said she was "incredibly relieved" that Getahun had turned himself in.
"It was a very dangerous situation," she said, adding that she credits the media in putting pressure on Getahun and "helping him understand that this is serious."
The man who allegedly was kidnapped by Getahun said Getahun had asked him if he had seen news reports about his crimes, but he hadn't because he had been out of town.
He said he and his wife had returned to their northwest Las Vegas home Saturday after vacationing for the past week and a half in Colorado, Utah and Arizona. They were eating lunch in their kitchen about 1:30 p.m. Sunday when they spotted Getahun wandering around their back yard.
"I stuck my head out there and said, 'Can I help you?' He said, 'Do you have a car?'," said the man, who was only willing to tell his story if his name was not published.
When he told Getahun that he did, Getahun walked into the kitchen holding a handgun. Getahun told the man's wife to be calm and everything would be OK. She said she "was in total shock."
"I was pretty upset," she said. "I was thinking (Getahun) was going to kill him."
They walked into the garage and got into the couple's white 2001 Mitsubishi Diamante. Getahun got into the back seat, allegedly held the gun on the man and ordered him to drive.
"It took me a second to figure out what was going on. It didn't sink in that this guy was a nutcase," the man said. "I offered to let him take the car, but for whatever reason, he wanted me in the car with him."
Getahun allegedly told the driver he would shoot him if he didn't follow his directions.
Getahun had a specific destination in mind, but he wouldn't reveal it to the victim, he said. Getahun told the man when to put on his turn signal, when to slow down and where to turn.
Getahun was very calm, telling the man he appreciated his kindness. He asked the man about his family, and he told Getahun that he has three children, ages 22, 20 and 16. Getahun told the victim about his own family, and the man got the impression that Getahun didn't have a good relationship with his relatives.
The driver said he thought about jumping out of the car and running from the suspect, but he had his seat belt on and couldn't figure out how to unhook it without Getahun seeing. After driving around for 45 minutes to an hour, Getahun told the man to pull over on Vegas Drive at A Street.
"He said, 'Go to the nearest pay phone and call a cab,' " the man said. "I said, 'Thank you' and got out." Getahun drove off in the victim's car.
Getahun didn't steal any money from him, the victim said. They left the house in such a hurry that he didn't have a chance to grab his wallet.
During the drive, Getahun said he expected to be dead within a few hours, the man said.
After getting out of the car, the man walked to Jerry's Nugget, just over a mile away. He used a casino employee's cellular phone to call his wife to tell her he was safe. His wife had called 911 as soon as they drove off, and police helicopters had been searching for him.
Police said Getahun allegedly drove the victim's car to Los Angeles. He reportedly approached a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department deputy about 6 p.m. Monday and said he was wanted for several robberies in Las Vegas.
Getahun was booked into a Los Angeles jail at 1:11 a.m. this morning on a fugitive from justice warrant. He is being held without bail and is awaiting extradition.
Getahun's alleged crime spree began early Friday morning, according to his arrest warrant. Getahun is accused of stealing a gun while from Glamour Girls, a sexually oriented entertainment business at 3135 South Industrial Road. He then allegedly robbed a man.
After that, he allegedly hailed a cab, carjacked the driver, picked up an unsuspecting passenger and robbed him. Several hours later, Getahun allegedly robbed a Chevron gas station in Henderson.
Early Sunday morning, before kidnapping the northwest Las Vegas man, police believe the suspect flagged down a cab and carjacked the driver. The cab was found later in the 4500 block of North Rancho Drive.
That block of North Rancho abuts the kidnapping victim's yard, and the victim said he thinks the suspect climbed over his block wall searching for another vehicle.
"I thank my lucky stars that he told me to pull over," the victim said. "It was bad luck that turned into good luck."
Moore called Getahun's possible involvement in the Monday death "a rumor which seems not to be true."
"Kevin's actions would have set him up to be a prime suspect, but it's too early to know," she said. " I'm as anxious as anyone else to see how the investigation moves forward."
Getahun, who is from Ethiopia, drove a cab for five years in Los Angeles before coming to Las Vegas. Sources say Getahun worked at Whittlesea Blue Cab from Aug. 28, 1998 until June of this year.
He was fired from Star Cab on July 6 after only two days on the job when he abandoned his cab and allegedly stole money from his shift. Getahun was known to be a heavy gambler, police said.
Mark Chavez, a cabdriver for Yellow Checker Star, was shot in the head during a robbery gone bad in May. He said people like Getahun, because of their knowledge of the taxicab industry, can prey on inexperienced drivers.
"I have respect for anyone who steps behind the wheel," Chavez said Monday. "It's not an easy job, and it's dangerous."
Chavez remained in a coma for eight days after the shooting. He was released from a rehabilitation center over the weekend and said he has made "remarkable progress ... I have a second chance on life, and I'm not going to blow it."
Sun reporter
Jeff German contributed to this story.
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