2 charged in attempted robbery of Uber driver in the West End

Police charged two teenagers Wednesday in connection with the attempted armed robbery of an Uber driver in the West End a day after a ride-share driver was carjacked at gunpoint in the same block, authorities said.

Cara Cruz, a police spokeswoman, said investigators believe the incidents are connected.

The first incident happened around 3 a.m. Tuesday in the 1200 block of Chartiers Avenue on the border of Crafton Heights and Elliot.

A man told police he was working as a ride-share driver and had been called for a pickup in that block, but when he arrived, four masked men held a gun to his head, took his cash and took off with his Ford Fusion. Police said they recovered the car later Tuesday morning.

In the second incident, patrol officers in the same area were flagged down around 2:45 a.m. Wednesday by an Uber driver who said she’d been threatened at gunpoint.

The woman said she picked up a teenager around 2:30 a.m. at West Penn Hospital. She told police that the teen, later identified as 16-year-old Kareem Harp, sat in the front passenger seat and made several phone calls during the ride, according to the criminal complaint.

When the woman got to the drop-off address, her passenger told her to turn onto Nittany Street, according to the complaint. When she did, he grabbed the keys from the ignition and her purse from the center console. She told police she struggled with the teenager and was dragged down onto the pavement, at which point two other men came out of a yard, at least one of whom was armed.

One of the men, later identified as 18-year-old Tejaun Davis, grabbed the purse and pointed a gun at the woman’s face, according to the complaint. A patrol car pulled up to a nearby intersection, causing the alleged attackers to take off.

Police later took Davis and Harp into custody, and the woman identified them as two of the three men involved in the attempted robbery, according to the complaint. A gun recovered by investigators had been reported stolen to Greensburg police.

Harp is charged as an adult with robbery, conspiracy and simple assault. Court records show the teen was denied bail by District Judge Jehosha Wright, who described him as a “danger to the community” in court records.

Davis remained in Allegheny County Jail on Thursday, unable to post $50,000 bail. He is charged with robbery, conspiracy, receiving stolen property, reckless endangerment, simple assault and firearms violations.

Neither teenager had a defense attorney listed in court records as of Thursday morning.