Pair accused of attempting to rob Lynn taxi driver

LYNN – A judge ordered two Boston men held on bail after a taxi driver told police the men tried to rob him at gunpoint after running out on a fare.But the judge acknowledged “questions” about the case after defense attorneys expressed skepticism over the alleged events.”There are certainly questions,” Lynn District Court Judge James LaMothe said Tuesday in Lynn District Court. “But the allegations are serious and the fact that (a defendant) was found with a weapon, I think, warrant bail.”Sean Bennett, 20, of Columbia Road, Boston, and Lamarr Jacks, 23, of 92 Blue Hill Ave. #2, were arrested and each charged with attempt to commit a crime; kidnapping; and assault with a dangerous weapon; at 1:50 a.m. Tuesday. Bennett was ordered held on $5,000, Jacks $2,500.The two were arraigned in Lynn District Court Tuesday where a plea of not guilty was entered on each defendant’s behalf.A taxi driver reported early Tuesday morning that two black men had robbed him at gunpoint and were walking from Boston Street by Stop & Shop towards Western Avenue, according to a report by Lynn Police Officer Sadrak Pierre.A cruiser located and stopped the men, and the alleged victim immediately identified them as the persons who committed the alleged robbery, according to police.Police said the alleged victim reported picking up the men at McKinley Terrace and driving them to near North Franklin Street and Northern Avenue. The alleged victim said the two got out of the cab but said they had the $6 or $7 fare inside the house, according to police. Instead of getting the money, the two men allegedly walked away and called another cab to pick them up.The alleged victim told police he followed another cab driver to that call, and then told the other cab driver to let him take the men because they already owed him money.The other cab driver reported to police that he told the alleged victim to forget about it and “that he feared that this was a robbery setup.”But the alleged victim told officers he picked the two men up, drove a little ways and then stopped, demanding the money he was owed.”(The alleged victim) stated that he observed one of the defendants pull something out of his jacket pocket that looked like a gun,” Pierre reported.The alleged victim told police he told the men he didn’t have money on him and knew he was going to be robbed, according to Pierre.”(The alleged victim) then stated that the person with the gun stated the following to him, ?then you are going to drive to where I want you to.'”The taxi driver told police he refused and was about to run out of the vehicle when the two men opened the taxi door and left laughing. Police found Bennett with a black pellet gun wrapped up in a sock.Assistant District Attorney Shailagh Kennedy requested $15,000 cash bail for each defendant.”It kind of, it doesn’t make sense,” Attorney Barbara Keon, representing Bennett, said of the account.Jacks’ attorney, Alicia Andrews, agreed.”The taxi cab driver says they stiffed him on the fare, then says, I’ll take that fare, they stiffed me, I’ll take it,” Andrews said. “There’s something missing here.”Keon suggested the cab driver heard the two youths talking about the gun and decided to stop, leading to a fare dispute. She requested Bennett be released on personal recognizance.Andrews said the incident “probably has something to do with drugs” but noted that was speculation.The two defendants are scheduled to return to court Oct. 16.