A taxi driver for El Palmar Taxi Service thwarts an armed robbery early Sunday Morning.
The taxi driver picked up a fair at J&J Foods on Jessie Jewell Parkway around 1:40 A.M. Sunday. He drove the man to the end of Frances Ave off Aviation Boulevard. There, the man identified as 38 year old, Paul N. Cochran, of Gainesville, produced a knife and attempted to rob the taxi driver.
The taxi driver jumped out of the taxi with a small handgun and ended the robbery attempt. The taxi driver held, the would be robber, until deputies with the Hall County Sheriff's Office arrived.
Deputies arrested Mr. Cochran and charged him with 1 count of Armed Robbery. They also recovered the knife used in the robbery.
Mr. Cochran is being detained at the Hall County Detention Center without bond pending a hearing in Magistrate Court.
The incident remains under investigation by the Hall County Sheriff's Office.
1st Lieutenant Jeff Strickland
Uniform Patrol Division
Hall County Sheriff's Office