Most dangerous job in town
A Hoboken taxi driver was allegedly assaulted by two women inside his cab while other passengers allegedly stole more than $400 in cash and property from him last Sunday morning, according to a police report.
Officers responded to 321 Harrison St. around 5:45 a.m. last weekend where they located the driver, who had been badly beaten in the face and lost his glasses.
The driver told police that he had been dispatched to pick up passengers at the location and transport them to the Hoboken PATH station downtown, and that when he arrived, three females and three males entered the vehicle. When he instructed the passengers that the fare would be extra because they were more than four people, an argument ensued, and the female sitting in the front seat, Tabitha Feola, 19, of Hoboken, allegedly began to punch him.
A police report said that two of the males in the back seat began to reach for a pile of cash sitting in the center console. As they did, another female, Jasmine Santos, 21, also of Hoboken, allegedly also began to hit the driver.
According to the report, both females then exited the taxi and began to allegedly beat the driver from outside. All six persons then fled the scene.
According to the report, when officers asked the driver which way they had run, he pointed at a group of three women sitting on a ledge on the corner of Harrison and Fourth Streets, identifying them as his alleged attackers. He identified Feola and Santos, but said that the third woman did not participate in the alleged attack.
Feola and Santos were arrested and transported to police headquarters, where they were charged with robbery while inflicting bodily injury and criminal mischief. The cash, which amounted to $445, and the driver’s glasses, which he said cost around $500, were not recovered.
Brutal attack on female
Officers responded to calls about a male assaulting a female on River Street early last Saturday morning, and arrived at the scene just before 2 a.m. to find the alleged victim being treated by ambulance workers for a cut to the back of her head.
According to a report, Devon Livingston, of Orange, allegedly threw the victim into a parked car, causing her to fall to the ground and hit the back of her head. Officers interviewed multiple witnesses at the scene who supported the victim’s story. According to the report, the witnesses included a security guard who noted that his bank’s security cameras may have caught the incident on tape.
The victim said that she did not remember anything that occurred after she fell, and according to the report, she collapsed at the scene while speaking with police. She was immediately brought to Hoboken University Medical Center.
According to the report, Livingston was arrested and transported to police headquarters, where he told officers that the victim had made racist remarks toward him, saying that she “couldn’t even enjoy a night out without minorities.” (Livingston is African American.) Following the remarks, Livingston said he went outside and was followed by the victim.
He said she (the victim) allegedly became involved in a physical altercation with another pair of bystanders.
Livingston was charged with aggravated assault.
Rumble on the pier
Around 5:45 p.m. last Saturday, police responded to reports of a drunk and disorderly person at the entrance of Pier 13, just off of Sinatra Drive. According to a police report, when officers arrived on the scene, they found the pier’s security guard restraining Alexander Maurer, 24, of Chatham on the ground.
The report said that Maurer allegedly became violent and punched the security guard in the head when he was asked to remove himself from the entrance to the pier. According to the report, Maurer also directed homophobic slurs at the security guard and attempted to spit in his face.
When the officers approached the pair, the guard released Maurer, who allegedly became immediately violent with police. According to the report, the officers attempted to place him under arrest, but he was belligerent. Maurer was forced back to the ground and placed in handcuffs.
He was charged with resisting arrest.