Police have arrested a 39-year-old man they allege was behind two recent taxi cab robberies in Santa Barbara last week.

According to police, the first incident happened at about 12:25 a.m. on February 24, when a taxi driver reported being robbed of $300 at knifepoint by a man he was driving near 500 E. Yanonali St. The suspect, who fled on foot, was described as wearing a black leather jacket and black baseball hat. He had been picked up in front of 1210 Cacique St.

Five days later, on February 29, a different taxi driver called police, stating he had been robbed of $210 cash by a man wearing a black leather jacket and black baseball hat who had fled on foot in the 1100 block of E. Yanonali St. toward Cacique. According to police, a second taxi driver picked the suspect up. Both drivers described the man as having a “milky” left eye.

After investigating, police determined the suspect has lived in a unit at 1210 Cacique St. since getting out of prison earlier in February. Police had talked to the man’s parole agent, who told them that he has an artificial left eye, making for the appearance of a “glassy haze.” Both taxi drivers identified the man as the suspect, and he was arrested March 1 for parole violation and two counts of robbery and two counts of theft with priors.

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