Man arrested for kidnapping taxi driver then stealing cab

A Coachella man is in jail for allegedly kidnapping a taxi driver, then stealing the cab Saturday evening, Palm Springs police say.

The female cab driver picked the man up in Palm Springs around 5:00 p.m. Saturday in the area of Warm Sands Drive and East Ramon Road.

The victim told police the man, 30-year-old Juan Terriquez, demanded her to drive to another city.

The woman, believing Terriquez was armed, pulled over and ran away unharmed. Terriquez then took off in the cab.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department found both him and the stolen taxi in Palm Desert near Highway 111 and Portola.

Terriquez was arrested and booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on felony kidnapping and carjacking charges.

Police also charged him with a misdemeanor for being in possession of nearly $1,000 in stolen property. Bail is set at $60,000.