AUBURN — Police said a Lewiston man has been charged with robbing a Portland cabdriver at knifepoint on Walnut Street in August.
Kamari Solomon, 18, of 302 Bates St., was indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury on a count of robbery, a Class A crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He also was charged with theft of services, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum jail time of six months.
In an affidavit, Lewiston police Detective Tyler R. Michaud wrote that a cabdriver for Port City Taxi in Portland reported he was robbed after picking up a man at the Concord Bus Terminal in Portland on the afternoon of Aug. 12. Rashid Olhaye told police he drove the man to 93 Walnut St. in Lewiston. When he stopped the cab, the man in the back put a knife to Olhaye’s throat and took money from his shirt pocket.
The man fled on foot in the direction of that street address, Olhaye told police. Olhaye said he tried to stop the man, but the man was able to enter the building. Olhaye said he went around to the back of the building where he saw the man leave. The man showed him a knife and “placed it to his stomach area,” Michaud wrote in his statement.
Olhaye told police he followed the man on Walnut Street to the end of Pierce Street, where the man took off running. At that point, Olhaye called 911, he told police. He said he was missing roughly $100.
Police found Solomon and took him to the police station for questioning. After he was read his right, he waived his right to keep silent, Michaud wrote.
Solomon first denied any knowledge of the incident, but later acknowledged that he had taken the cab from Portland to Lewiston. He denied using a knife and taking any money, according to the affidavit.
Olhaye picked Solomon out of a photo lineup.
With permission from Solomon’s mother to search her home, police found pants and shoes that Solomon had worn during the incident, Michaud wrote. No knife or cash were recovered.
The theft charge is based on the belief by police that Solomon didn’t pay for the cab fare.
As of Wednesday, Solomon was being held at Androscoggin County Jail in lieu of $400 cash bail.
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