Arlington police say they have charged two men after a cab driver was assaulted following their refusal to pay their fare. The two left personal bank cards in the vehicle’s back seat, police said.
The men were traveling from the Alewife MBTA station to an address in Arlington on Saturday, Aug. 9, when the driver told them they had only paid for $2 of their $20 fare and owed him money. Christopher LaFrance, 25, of Arlington, and Jacob Shaps, 24, of Boston, then allegedly beat the driver and threw his cellphone out the window following an argument, Boston.com reported Sunday, Aug. 10.
When the driver threatened to call the police, one of the men allegedly started punching the driver. The driver then reached for his cell phone, but the suspect allegedly grabbed it and threw it out the window of the cab onto the pavement, a news release by police spokesman John Guilfoyle said.
Police say the men were gone by the time they arrived at 11:36 p.m., but the cab driver reported that LaFrance had “left behind several cards with his name on them.”
The cards belonged to a “Chris LaFrance,” the news release said. Arlington police dispatch determined that there was a man with that name living in East Arlington.
They were then able to locate the suspects at LaFrance’s home address in Arlington, where the driver identified them as the alleged assailants.
“I wish to commend the cab driver for coming forward and positively identifying his alleged assailants,” Chief Fred Ryan said in the release. “The Arlington Police Department takes cases like this very seriously, and we are relieved that he was not badly hurt.”
The driver was not badly injured and refused medical treatment. LaFrance and Shaps are scheduled to be arraigned Monday, Aug. 11, in Cambridge District Court.
This story was published Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014.
