Reading man accused of robbing 3 taxi drivers a block from his apartment

Reading police already had a person of interest in two robberies of taxi drivers in the city’s northeast section when a third robbery was reported Thursday at the same intersection.

All three incidents occurred after the taxi driver was called to pick up a fare at an address near Union and Mulberry streets.

In each incident, the suspect handed a La Mexicana driver a fake $100 bill and grabbed cash from the center console when the driver reached into the console for change. In the last two robberies, the victims told police, the suspect displayed a large kitchen knife with a teal handle.

The first robbery occurred March 3, and the second on Oct. 19.

The victim of the second robbery was robbed twice. After taking $40 from the victim’s wallet with the knife pressed against his neck, the suspect forced the man to drive to an ATM in the 1900 block of North 13th Street and withdraw $20 from the victim’s bank account.

According to court records:

After that robbery, investigators learned the number used to order the taxi belonged to Yadiel Rivera-Perez, 34, who resides just a block from where all three of the robberies occurred.

From previous contacts, police knew Rivera-Perez resided in the 1500 block of North 10th Street. The victim said the suspect fled south onto Mulberry after the robberies, then disappeared into an alleyway.

The alleyway, they noted, leads almost directly to the rear of Rivera-Perez’s apartment.

Police wasted no time going there after the call for the latest robbery was dispatched.

They detained Rivera-Perez and transported him to City Hall for an interview.

Rivera-Perez admitted to having counterfeit $100 bills in his apartment, saying he purchased them from a website but wouldn’t say why he had fake currency.

Police obtained a search warrant for his North 10th Street apartment. They found a stack of counterfeit $100 bills, a large kitchen knife with a teal handle, and a black Adidas hoodie similar to one worn by the robbery, as seen in security camera footage.

After viewing a photo lineup, the second victim identified Rivera-Perez as the person who robbed him.

Rivera-Perez was charged with three counts each of robbery, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

He was committed to Berks County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bail following arraignment Thursday night before District Judge Steven M. Chieffo in Reading.