Police: Pair beat, robbed cabdriver

Two teenagers were arrested Wednesday after they called for a cab in Uniondale, then beat the driver in the head with a brick, stealing his cash and the keys to his taxi cab, police said.

Arrested were Tysheem Gary, 19, of Maplewood Avenue in Hempstead, and Obioha Osuji, 18, of Waldorf Place in Uniondale. Both were charged with first-degree robbery and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Police said Gary was also charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a dangerous weapon. Gary was arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead. Osuji is scheduled for arraignment Thursday.

Police said the cab was dispatched from Taxi Fiesta at 1:10 a.m. When the driver arrived at the location on Lindenwood Street, Osuji and Gary entered the taxi and began striking him in the head with a brick, demanding money.

The two then took the cash, along with the keys to the cab, and ran, police said. With assistance from a canine unit, officers found Gary as he left a yard at the corner of Clinton Street and Jerusalem Avenue and arrested Osuji later Wednesday at his home in Uniondale.

The driver, 39, whom Nassau County police did not identify, was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow bleeding profusely from head wounds, police said. He received an unspecified number of stitches and was released, police said.