A military service member faces several charges for a cab ride that turned into a series of crimes.
Montgomery County police spokesperson Rebecca Innocenti told News4's Melissa Mollet that investigators have linked a cabjacking last week to 23-year-old Andrew Gerald Roberts. According to sources, Roberts is a service member who lives on campus at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Investigators allege that a strange incident in which a cab driver was taken for a ride in his own vehicle when Roberts hailed a taxi outside of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Roberts got into the cab's front seat, and a female companion got into the rear. Two asked the driver to take them to Target in Rockville, according to police. On the way, both passengers became highly critical of the cabby's driving, and berated him verbally, according to investigators.
Police said in a release that once the cab reached the Target, Roberts ordered the man out of the car. The driver initially refused and threatened to call police, but investigators said Roberts told him, "that would not be a good idea." Then according to the release, the driver got into the passenger seat, and Roberts took control of the cab, driving south on Rockville Pike. At the intersection of Old Georgetown Road, police said Roberts got into a minor collision with another vehicle, but kept driving, heading back to the Target.
Roberts and his female companion exited the cab in the Target parking lot, and went inside the store without paying the fare, police said. Surveillance cameras inside the store recorded the two browsing and purchasing items.
Police said the two then left the store in another cab.
Andrew Gerald Roberts faces charges including carjacking, kidnapping, and two traffic violations related to the car accident. His female companion was not initially charged in the incident.
