Two arrested in tip theft, hit and run

Two people were jailed Wednesday after allegedly snatching a tip jar from outside a coffee kiosk, then hitting a taxi driver who stood in front of their vehicle to prevent them from leaving.

Justin Johnson, 20, and girlfriend Briana Boyd, 20, were both booked into the Carson City Jail. Johnson was booked on suspicion of petty larceny, Boyd on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident.

According to Detective Dave Legros, Boyd was driving her white Saturn Ion, when Johnson got out of her car at the Dutch Bros. Coffee kiosk on Carson Street and allegedly grabbed the tip jar sitting just outside the window about 10:45 a.m.

A customer on the opposite side of the kiosk alerted the shop owner.

A taxi driver nearby who witnessed the alleged theft stood in front of the vehicle, while another customer took the tip jar back, said Legros.

Boyd then allegedly struck the taxi driver as she fled the parking lot.

"The female driver looked directly in my eyes, hit the gas, and hit me, knocking me down," the taxi driver wrote in her statement. The driver suffered a "laceration to her knee," according to police reports.

Another cab followed the Saturn as it drove down Stewart Street, then Roop and Second streets where they lost it, according to reports.

Deputies then took up the pursuit and the Saturn was stopped at the Foothill Garden Apartments.

A passenger in the back seat with an infant was allowed to leave the scene, said Deputy Dean Williams.

Deputy Bill Richards said Boyd told him that she didn't run over the cab driver but that the cab driver jumped out in front of her.

Johnson is also a suspect in a tip jar theft at the Pizza Factory from Sept. 23.

As officers waited for a tow truck to take Boyd's vehicle, Boyd yelled out the window of the patrol car she was in, to the patrol car which held Johnson.

"I'm going to jail Justin. I'm going to jail," she cried. "Thanks."

Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.