Mt. Laurel Cabbie Slashing Gets Man 15 Years

A Cherry Hill man who was the wheelman in the violent robbery of a cabdriver in Mount Laurel will spend 15 years in prison for his crimes, the Burlington County Times reported Friday.

Miguel Mercado, 23, of the 2900 block of Chapel Avenue, was one of four defendants in the case, all accused of attacking and robbing cabdriver Joseph Dominguez, who had his throat slashed for a mere $40 in the Jan. 20, 2012 incident.

While Mercado didn’t wield the knife, he was a participant in the attack, prosecutors said, and took the wheel of the cab after Dominguez ran to get help, eventually crashing the car into a tree. Mercado pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, after originally being indicted on the robbery charges, as well as first-degree attempted murder, conspiracy, carjacking, use of a juvenile to commit a crime and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

The attack left Dominguez, a driver with Five Star Cab Service in Camden, with physical and emotional scars, he said in court.

“I’m scared going out, because I think every time someone approaches me, they are going to hurt me,” Dominguez said in a letter, according to the Times’ report. “This action almost cost me my life and left some psychological scars and some physical as well.”

Dominguez was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden following the attack, which happened on Forrest Court in Mount Laurel.

Mercado and another of the defendants, Breanna Pimienta, 18, were arrested in a raid by the Cherry Hill Police Department’s Tactical Response Team following the attack.

Mount Laurel officers arrested the other two defendants, Mahadi M. Robinson and Giovanni Nieves.

Pimienta is scheduled to be sentenced next week; Robinson’s sentencing isn’t until later this year.