Two alleged gunmen charged with robbing taxi driver in East Conemaugh

Mar. 5—Two Richland Township men were jailed Thursday, accused of robbing a taxi driver of $52 in East Conemaugh Borough and pointing a gun at his head threatening to shoot, authorities said.

East Conemaugh police charged Anthony John Petak, 18, and Joseph Camut III, 17, both of the 1000 block of Gap Avenue, with robbery and aggravated assault.

According to a criminal complaint, Petak and Camut called for a taxi to take them from 315 Oak St. in East Conemaugh to Building 23 at Coopersdale Homes in Johnstown around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

When the cab arrived, one of the men opened the passenger side door, pointed a handgun and said, "Give me all your money or I will shoot dude," the complaint said.

The second robber pointed a handgun through the windshield before the driver handed over the money and the two men fled.

No one was injured when the taxi driver pulled out a handgun and fired one round, the complaint said.

Cambria County 911 had the suspects' location "pinged" when they made the call to the taxi company. The location was in the woods behind Bon Air in Conemaugh Township, but the two men were not there.

Police viewed video from the cab which showed the driver being hit on the head with a gun barrel. The video also showed one of the men pulling the trigger, but the gun malfunctioned twice, the complaint said.

Police traced the gunmen's phone number to a woman on Jackson Street. She told police that Camut and Petak had been staying at the residence and often used her phone to call for taxi rides, the complaint said.

Camut and Petak later turned themselves in to East Conemaugh police.

State police and East Taylor Township police assisted in the investigation.

Camut and Petak were arraigned by on-call District Judge Kevin Price, of Johnstown, and sent to Cambria County Prison after each failed to post 10% of $150,000 bond.