Englewood Carjacker Tries to Strangle Cabbie, Police Say

Written by Noah Cohen

Police charged a 22-year-old Englewood man after he tried to strangle a cab driver, pulled a knife and stole his taxi at a city apartment complex Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The cabbie was called to the Coriander Way apartments in the city’s 4th Ward and picked up Jamel Thomas around 12:45 p.m., according to police. Thomas got in the back seat, directly behind the driver and within minutes wrapped a rope around the man’s neck and started strangling him.

“The driver put up a good fight in the cab and was able to slip out of the rope and through his door,” said Detective Capt. Timothy Torell of the Englewood Police Department.

The struggle spilled out onto the driveway, but when the driver tried to stop Thomas from getting behind the wheel the carjacker threatened him with a knife, Torell said. The driver suffered an arm injury, but escaped serious harm.

Thomas took off with car and the driver’s property, including an iPad, wallet and cell phone, police said. City detectives rushed to the scene and were able to use a GPS tracker installed in the taxi to locate the car parked unoccupied at a William Street housing complex.

Englewood Detectives Chris Kedersha and Carlos Marte setup surveillance and were watching around 2:20 p.m. when Thomas tried to get in the stolen car, Torell said. Police moved in and he was arrested without incident.

A search turned up most of the driver’s stolen property, a hypodermic needle and the knife believed to have been used in the carjacking, Torell said.

Thomas was charged with first-degree carjacking, second-degree aggravated assault and various drug and weapons offenses. Bail was set at $300,000 and he was awaiting transfer to the county jail Friday.

“The driver in this case was extremely fortunate that he did not sustain serious injury and did a great job in helping us take this dangerous guy off the streets,” the captain said.

Thomas was also arrested in 2012 on a gun possession charge in the Bronx.