West OC Cabbie Robber Convicted

SNOW HILL - A local man arrested in November for holding up a resort cab driver at knife point in the parking lot of a West Ocean City bar pleaded guilty this week to armed robbery and now faces up to 20 years in jail pending the outcome of the pre-sentence investigation.

Franklin Paul Adams, 48, of no fixed address, was arrested in November in a West Ocean City motel after Maryland State Troopers identified him as the suspect in the robbery of a Classic Taxi cab driver. Adams appeared in Worcester County Circuit Court this week facing a slew of charges including armed robbery, first- and second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment and carrying a concealed weapon. He pleaded guilty to armed robbery, a conviction which carries a maximum of 20 years, and a pre-sentence investigation was ordered.

The incident began when a Classic Taxi driver responded to a call for service on North Division Street in Ocean City and was robbed at knife-point shortly thereafter midnight at his fare's destination, a sports bar on Route 707 in West Ocean City. The driver picked up the unknown rider, who had called from a pay phone on North Division Street.

The fare, later identified as Adams, told the cab driver he needed a ride to the Keyser Point Road area in West Ocean City. Once across the Route 50 bridge, Adams told the driver to turn on Keyser Point Road and later asked the cabbie to take him to a sports bar on Route 707 in West Ocean City.

When the cab driver pulled into the parking lot of the sports bar, Adams produced a silver knife, placed it against the driver's throat and demanded money. Adams withdrew the knife when the driver turned over $70 in cash, got out of the back seat of the cab and started walking toward Route 611.

The driver then returned to the site of the original pick-up on North Division Street in Ocean City and called his employer and 911. Shortly thereafter, a Maryland State Police trooper arrived at the location and a description of the assailant was broadcast. About 30 minutes later, other state troopers contacted the original trooper and told him they were detaining a possible suspect at the Alamo Motel.

The first trooper responded to the Alamo with the cab driver, who positively identified Adams as the man who had held him up at knife-point. A search of Adams' room in the motel revealed a tan coat with the silver knife in the pocket, all of which matched the descriptions provided by the cab driver. The motel manager told police Adams had arrived at the Alamo about 45 minutes before police arrived and paid the manager $50 he owed for late rent.