Visitor sticks ‘gun’ in taxi driver’s face during robbery

A Houston man, vacationing in South Florida, is in the Broward County jail after being accused of robbing a taxi driver in Hallandale Beach.

Cabbie Isabel Samanez was about to drop off John Cleveland, 30, when she found herself facing a large handgun as he demanded, “Give me phone, give me money,” according to the arrest report filed in the case.

The gun was later found to be a fake, but the charges Cleveland is facing are real, said assistant state attorney Eric Linder at Cleveland’s first appearance in court.

“While it does appear he used a fake gun, clearly the alleged victim believed it was a real gun and was put in great fear for her life and safety during this robbery,” he said.

Samanez had picked up Cleveland at a hotel near Miami International Airport and was dropping him off in the 2000 block of Atlantic Shores Boulevard about 2 a.m. Thursday when he robbed her of $70 cash, an iPhone, and a computer tablet, the report stated.

Police set up a perimeter, complete with a K9 and a helicopter, and tracked the stolen iPhone with the “Find My Phone” app. They found Cleveland taking a nap in an unlocked 1988 Oldsmobile with no tag, police said.

Cleveland had discarded his clothes, the iPhone, and the gun — which police discovered was fake. The tablet was found in Cleveland’s backpack. The recovered property was worth an estimated $1,170, investigators said.

He confessed during questioning and told police the gun wasn’t real, investigators said.

Cleveland is being held on $57,000 bond for charges that include robbery with a weapon, burglary and grand theft, records show.

Cleveland