MIAMI – Two men accused of carjacking a taxi driver in Miami were denied bond Tuesday.
Steve Mantilla and Anthony Hernandez, both 18, were arrested Monday on charges of robbery/carjacking. Mantilla also faces charges of fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer without violence.
According to police, the taxi driver, Heberto Fletes, picked up three men at Southwest 10th Avenue and Eighth Street about 4 a.m.
The driver drove them only a few blocks before the men beat the driver and kicked him out of the taxi, police said.
According to Miami police spokesman Freddie Cruz, Mantilla was sitting behind the driver's seat and began choking Fletes. He said Hernandez then punched the driver in the chest while going through his pockets and ordering him out of the car.
Fletes, who was robbed of his cellphone and $300, went to a nearby gas station and called 911.
Police spotted the stolen cab moments later and tried to pull them over, but the men crashed into a fence and took off running.
Mantilla and Hernandez were arrested. Police said they are still searching for a third man, who is believed to have gotten out of the cab before officers spotted it.
Cruz said the third man has the stolen money, iPhone 6 and a Samsung Tab 4.
Police said Mantilla was driving the cab and was stunned in the back by a Taser while trying to run from officers.
Fletes suffered minor injuries in the carjacking.
Anyone with information about the third man's whereabouts or identity is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
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