Two men in custody after taxi driver robbed at knifepoint
Valiant Rodriguez, 25, of the unit block of Crownwood Court in Rockville, and Yera Basnueva, 26, of the 2900 block of Schoolhouse Drive in Wheaton, were charged with armed robbery and first-degree assault, according to the police statement.
According to police, Rodriguez and Basnueva got in a Regency taxi at the Shady Grove Metro station around 1:17 a.m. and asked to be driven to the Travilah Shopping Center. When they arrived at the center, the suspects asked the driver, a male, to continue driving. When the taxi reached the area of Travilah Road and Potomac Oaks Drive, one of the men announced a robbery and showed the driver a knife, police said.
The two suspects stole cash and fled on foot, police said.
Rodriguez and Basnueva are being held on $250,000 bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center.