CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Police say two Johnstown teenagers have been charged for robbing a taxi driver at gun point in East Conemaugh Borough early Tuesday morning.
According to a criminal complaint, 17-year-old Joseph Camut III and 18-year-old Anthony Petak have been charged with robbery, aggravated assault and conspiracy.
Additionally, Petak is a charge related to carrying a gun without a license.
According to the East Conemaugh Police Department, officers were called to the 300 block of Oak Street just before 4 a.m. for reports of an armed robbery of a taxi driver.
The taxi driver told police he was called to pickup two individuals and when he arrived, he saw one of the men in an alleyway as the other opened the vehicle’s passenger side and then brandished a gun, saying “give me all your money or I will shoot dude,” according to the criminal complaint.
The taxi driver said the other man was then standing in front of the vehicle pointing a gun at him too, according to the complaint.
According to police, the driver said he gave the robbers $52, and they started running away.
The driver says he got out of the vehicle, pulled out a gun and fired at the two men as they fled, according to the complaint.
Investigators say they were following a couple leads, but in the meantime, police say they watched the audio and video that was recorded from inside the taxi.
Police say the video showed one of the men strike the taxi driver with the barrel of the gun.
The video shows the man pulling the trigger of the gun as the firearm malfunctions and doesn’t fire, the complaint says.
The video shows the man pull the gun out of the vehicle while trying to clear the jam from the slide before pulling the trigger again with the firearm aimed at the street, according to the complaint.
Police say the gun malfunctioned a second time at which point the man pointed the firearm at the taxi driver again as the money was handed over.
They say Camut and Petak then ran away but could be seen wearing a Steelers hoodie and a green mask.
As the investigation continued, police say they contacted the phone number that was used to call for the taxi.
They say the number belonged to a woman who agreed to be interviewed at the police station.
According to the complaint, the woman told officers that she was at home sleeping the morning of the robbery, but Camut and Petak were staying at her house.
She told police that the two had used her phone to call for the taxi and that she would allow investigators to search her home for evidence, the complaint says.
Inside the woman’s home, police say they found the Steelers hoodie and green mask that were worn during the robbery captured on vehicle.
Officers also found black spray paint that was used to color the gun which ended up causing the firearm to malfunction.
Both Petak and Camut are being lodged in the Cambria County Prison on $150,0000 bail.
They have preliminary hearing s scheduled for March 15.
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