TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly stealing a taxi while the driver was taking a break in Bunkyo Ward last month, reports TBS News (May 22).
At around 4:30 p.m. on May 22, Ryosuke Nozue jumped into the parked taxi while the driver was in a public bathroom in the Koishikawa area. When the suspect attempted to speed off, the driver grabbed the door of the vehicle. After being dragged a distance of about 10 meters, the driver fell from the side.
The driver suffered a broken collarbone that will required six months to heal, according to the Otsuka Police Station.
Nozue, who has been accused of robbery resulting in injury, partially denies the allegations. “I stole the taxi, but I did not know the driver got injured clinging to the side,” the suspect was quoted by police.
About 30 minutes after the incident, the cab was found abandoned roughly 400 meters away from where it was stolen. Prior to fleeing the vehicle, the suspect stole 8,000 yen in cash, police said.
Nozue became a person of interest for police after an examination of dashboard footage taken from inside the taxi. On June 22, police apprehended him inside a carriage of the JR Yamanote Line.
At the time of his apprehension, he was in possession of 80 yen. He told police that he walked from the Ikebukuro area of Toshima Ward to Saitama City, a distance of about 25 kilometers, after the incident, police said.
In providing information on the case to the press after the incident, police initially said that the suspect appeared to be a foreigner.
