Man dressed as ninja tries to rob taxi driver

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Story Published: Apr 27, 2008 at 5:11 PM PST

By Elissa Harrington

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EUGENE, Ore. - A man dressed as a ninja tried to rob a tax driver at knifepoint. Now police are urging all drivers to take extra precaution.

It all went down around 2 a.m. near the Spencerview Apartments in South Eugene. The driver of a Jerry's taxi cab said he was waiting along 22nd Avenue and Patterson Street in response to a call from his dispatcher.

Then a man dressed as a ninja came to the window, stuck his arm through, demanded money and shoved a knife toward his throat.

"The cab driver was able to roll up the window and put it in drive with the suspect's arm still in the window," Sergeant Ryan Nelson with the Eugene Police Department said. "As he drove away his arm came loose. The driver then drove to a safe location and called police."

Six officers and one K-9 checked out the scene. They have not found anything yet. The cab driver was not injured and was able to get away before being robbed.

The dispatcher at Jerry's taxi said he spoke with other cab agencies in town who said they also received a call to that same address around the same time. Police are asking anyone with information to please give them a call.

As for a description of the suspect? It's vague. The man looked to be in his 20s and was wearing all black.

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