HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A longtime taxi driver who was robbed at gunpoint by the out-of-town visitor she drove to Hallandale Beach is sharing her account of the traumatic drive.
Speaking through a translator, Isabel Samanez said the terrifying experience left her feeling frightened and vulnerable for days.
“I felt very bad, very bad. I could not do anything,” she said.
Samanez said the ordeal began when she picked up the suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Texas resident John Cleveland, at the Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon in West Miami-Dade, at around 2 a.m., Thursday.
Samanez, a taxi driver for 20 years, said things felt normal during the drive north, but as she pulled up to Cleveland’s destination in Hallandale Beach, he put a gun to her head and threatened to beat her with the firearm.
“He took my cellphone, tablet and asked me for money,” she said. “I did not surrender my money, but he pointed a gun to my face, then threatened to pistol-whip me. Then I gave my money to the suspect.”
Frightened and shaken up, the victim rushed to police. Officers used the Find My Phone app to locate the stolen cellphone, and that’s what led them right to the suspect.
Investigators said officers found Cleveland sleeping in a stolen car. The Houston resident eventually confessed to using a fake gun to commit the robbery.
Cleveland, who appeared in bond court on Friday, faces a list of charges, including armed robbery and burglary of a vehicle.
Samanez said, knowing Cleveland is behind bars, she can now rest easy and continue doing the job she loves.
“I feel so much better now,” she said. “These past couple of days have been terrible. I could not even sleep, having flashbacks of the moment. Thank God it’s over.”
As of Monday morning, Cleveland remains at the Broward County Main Jail on a $57,000 bond.
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