Cab driver, wife tell Joplin police of robbery attempt

Memorial Day travelers bemoan high gas prices

Norm Hayward and his wife, Claudia, have a couple of things going for them as they continue their increasingly expensive motor home trip around parts of the United States. For starters, the Phoenix, Ariz., couple are saving on hotel costs.

Crime & Courts

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January 18, 2013

Cab driver, wife tell Joplin police of robbery attempt

By Debby Woodin news@joplinglobe.com The Joplin Globe Fri Jan 18, 2013, 11:43 PM CST

JOPLIN, Mo. —

A Joplin cab driver and his wife reported that a gunman tried to rob them Wednesday night in the 800 block of West Seventh Street.

Joplin police Cpl. Chuck Niess said the taxi was called to the location to pick up a fare. A man got in the back of the cab, pulled a gun out and demanded the wallets of the driver and his wife.

Niess said the couple told police that they jumped out of the cab at that point and slammed a door of the vehicle on the would-be robber as he was attempting to get out, which caused him to drop his gun. They said he then picked it back up and fled without their wallets or money.

The report remained under investigation Friday without an arrest having been made.

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