Minneapolis police arrested a 20-year-old woman early Tuesday morning for assaulting and robbing a 40-year-old cab driver in southeast Minneapolis.
There was also an attempted carjacking on the same street two hours earlier. It is unclear if the two incidents are connected.
The suspect in the robbery of the cab driver was apprehended at her apartment on the 300 block of Third Avenue Southeast shortly after 2:30 a.m.
The cab driver, Timothy Onwuchuruba, said he did not want to discuss the incident because it is an active police investigation. He said he did not have other passengers in the cab during the robbery that occurred between 12:15 a.m. and 12:25 a.m.
Officers responded to calls from the suspect’s neighbors after reportedly hearing a woman screaming in the suspect’s apartment. It is unclear how much money the suspect stole from the cab driver. Onwuchuruba refused to disclose which cab company he works for.
Evidence in the apartment linked the woman to other robberies in the area, according to police reports. The suspect was in police custody at Hennepin County Jail on Tuesday.
Another 55-year-old man was robbed in his red sports utility vehicle along Third and University avenues southeast late Monday evening.
The victim could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Two suspects attempted to steal the man’s vehicle while he was driving eastbound on University Avenue Southeast between 10:30 and 10:40 p.m. The suspects got in the car and ordered him gunpoint to drive to another location.
Jessica Erickson, a junior majoring in psychology, spoke with the carjacking victim after he was assaulted. She said he was covered with blood on his head and chest.
Erickson was eating ice cream at Dunn Bros Coffee with her roommate when she witnessed two men struggling behind an apartment building. She said she did not get a good look at the suspects nor see any weapons.
When the victim approached her asking for help, Erickson said he told her that the suspects were still in his car and trying to kill him.
However, the suspects were gone when authorities arrived, she said. Police told her that the victim was struck over the head with a blunt object.
Minneapolis investigators working on the robbery cases could not be reached for comment Tuesday.