Two men are in custody after authorities say they assaulted a cab driver early this morning.
The incident began about 2:20 a.m., when the cabbie picked up four people from downtown; two of the passengers asked to be taken to a hotel on 17th Avenue Northwest.
The driver asked the remaining two passengers, Tadros Deng and Akolda Manyang, both 22 and from Rochester, where they wanted to go. The men were "drunk and belligerent and didn't know the address," said Capt. John Sherwin, so the cabbie told them to get out.
One of the men grabbed the driver's clipboard, got out of the cab and smashed it on the ground; when the driver also got out of the vehicle, the men assaulted him and chased him around the parking lot, Sherwin said.
The victim eventually made it into the hotel lobby, which is when Deng and Manyang allegedly grabbed the keys to the driver's personal vehicle and ran off.
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Deng was found nearby soon after by a Minnesota State Patrol trooper; a Rochester Police officer found Manyang in the area of Second Street and U.S. Highway 52 North.
Both men could face charges of felony simple robbery and fifth-degree assault, Sherwin said.
The cabbie sustained minor injuries, but didn't seek medical treatment, the report says.
