Someone is robbing cabbies near Manassas

Police are investigating a series of robberies involving taxi cabs near Manassas. Five cabbies have been robbed since Dec. 9.

The most recent robbery was at 3:21 a.m. in the area of Vernon Street and Tower Place. On Monday, police were called to a Walmart at Manassas Mall after a cabbie was robbed nearby.

In each robbery, police said cabbies pick up a fare and are asked to drive to a certain location, but are robbed before they arrive.

Here’s more in a police press release:

Armed Robberies – On December 15th at 2:57PM, officers responded to the 10700 block of Sudley Manor Dr in Manassas (20109) to investigate a robbery. The victim, a 62 year old man of Manassas, reported to police that he was a cab driver and had picked up a fare at the Wal-Mart located in Manassas Mall. After picking up the suspect, the victim drove him to the above area. Once stopped, the suspect pulled out a knife and took an undisclosed amount of money from the victim before fleeing on foot.

Early the next morning on December 16th at 3:21AM, officers responded to the area of Vernon St and Tower Pl in Manassas (20109) to investigate another robbery involving a cab driver. The victim, a 48 year old man of Fort Royal, reported to police that he picked up a fare and drove to the above area where the suspect displayed a knife and robbed him of an undisclosed amount of money. Following the incident, the suspect fled on foot.

No injuries were reported in either incident.

A police K-9 was also used in the December 16th incident to search for the suspect. Both incidents are believed to be related to one another, as well as, two other similar robberies reported on December 14th. The suspect in all reported incidents matched similar descriptions provided by the victims in those cases.

Suspect Description:

Black male, between 20 & 25 years of age, 6’0”, 160-170lbs with short black hair

Last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans