Illegal Hack Busted After JFK Pursuit
Trying to avoid prosecution for illegally picking up fares at John F. Kennedy International Airport proved costly for a taxi driver from Ridgewood who was arrested last Tuesday, Feb. 21, after leading police on a pursuit that was ended by one of his passengers, it was reported.
Police identified the suspect as 37-year-old Bhupinder Singh of Himrod Street.
Law enforcement sources said the trouble began at around 1:30 p.m. last Tuesday, when members of the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) observed Singh allegedly soliciting cab fares in front of JFK Airport’s Terminal 4.
According to the criminal complaint provided by the Queens District Attorney’s office, Singh had been barred by the PAPD in January from offering livery services at both JFK and LaGuardia airports due to previous infractions.
After making repeated solicitations from people leaving Terminal 4, police said, Singh was spotted allegedly escorting the family of four-a man, a woman and their two children, a 17-year-old boy and a 12- year-old girl-into his vehicle.
Police officers in an unmarked vehicle then blocked Singh’s cab, and an officer reportedly exited the patrol car and identified himself as a PAPD member.
Instead of stopping, prosecutors said, Singh allegedly backed up his taxi cab and maneuvered it around the stopped patrol car, speeding away from the location. Port Authority officers then pursued the vehicle for a distance.
Realizing that the taxi was being pursued by law enforcement agents, the criminal complaint noted, the 17- year-old male grabbed hold of the steering wheel and pulled it to the right, causing the cab to crash into a guardrail.
Following impact, authorities said, Singh allegedly exited the car and attempted to run away; report- edly, he left the doors to the cab locked, trapping the family inside.
Port Authority officers subdued and arrested Singh following a brief foot pursuit. The members of the family inside his cab were freed.
The mother and father were taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries sustained in the crash.
Singh was charged with two counts of second-degree assault and additional counts of unlawful imprisonment, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal trespassing and unlawful solicitation of ground transportation services.
According to court records, the suspect was arraigned last Wednesday, Feb. 22, in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Lenora Gerald, who ordered him held on $10,000 bond or $1,500 cash. He is scheduled to return to court on Mar. 7.
