A La Ronge taxicab company is considering revising its hours of operation after one of its drivers was threatened with armed robbery over the weekend.
Vi Werchola owns L.A. Family Taxi. She says one of the company’s drivers was responding to a fare on the Lac La Ronge Indian Reserve in the early morning hours of Saturday when three males wearing masks approached his vehicle.
Werchola says one of the men pointed what appeared to be a gun at the driver demanding he open up the vehicle. The driver instead radioed one of his colleagues and police arrived shortly thereafter.
Werchola says she does not want to reduce the cab company’s hours at night, but she will do so if it means keeping her drivers safe.
“It’s very scary, very bad for the drivers who have to be out there at night but all we are trying to do is offer a service,” she says. “So, we hate to shut down earlier because we like to stay out until the bars are closed and be able to get people home safely rather than having them drive away – drinking and driving.”
L.A. Family Taxi currently operates Thursday to Saturday until 3 a.m. and the rest of the week until 1 a.m.
However, Werchola says they are considering closing as early as midnight seven days a week.
She says she has been in contact with the driver since the incident and he is definitely shaken, but has returned to work.
“He’s very shaken up, he’s very apprehensive, but he needs to support his family, he needs the job and so he’s back at work.”
La Ronge RCMP arrested two 19-year-old men in relation to an armed robbery of a vehicle on reserve Saturday morning.
Police say the men were wearing dark clothing and had their faces covered.
Keenan Stewart and Nolan Ross face a number of charges including robbery, use of an imitation firearm during a robbery, assault with a weapon and disguise with intent to commit an offence.
Both appeared in La Ronge provincial court Monday morning.
Police say a third suspect remains at large.
(PHOTO: Vi Werchola. Photo courtesy of Vi Werchola, Facebook.)