Police respond to robberies after taxi driver attacked

Myrtle Beach police are searching for four suspects involved in two robberies after a taxi driver reported that a man he picked up attempted to choke him while another man in his cab grabbed his cellphone, authorities said.

Officers were called about 3:30 a.m. Thursday to a gas station on the 1800 block of Mr. Joe White Avenue, where a 63-year-old man reported the incident.

The victim told police he picked up four men about 3:15 a.m. in front of a pawn shop at 1852 Mr. Joe White Avenue, and they asked him to take them to Gray Street.

The victim said once he got to Gray Street, the men told him to turn down several other streets. The victim then asked the group what was going on, and one of the men suddenly grabbed him from behind and wrapped both hands around the victim’s neck, according to a police report.

The victim said he was able to fight off the suspect and avoided being choked. He told police the men jumped out of the cab, but said he sat there for a moment because he felt dazed by the incident, authorities said.

The victim said he saw one of the men turn around and head back toward his cab, so he left the area and called police using someone’s cellphone because his Samsung cellphone, valued at $300, was taken during the incident, police said.

Myrtle Beach detectives and crime scene investigators arrived at the scene.

Police said a similar incident happened shortly after this one, and authorities believe the two crimes are related.

Officers had not released the police report about the other incident by 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

More information will be released as it becomes available.

Please check back for story updates.

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 8:49 AM with the headline "Police respond to robberies after taxi driver attacked."