WESTFIELD – A man tried to get a free ride but instead got charged with cab fare evasion.
Douglas G. Jaeger, Jr., of 19 Lockhouse Road was released on his personal recognizance after being arraigned in Westfield District Court Friday on charges of fraud in hiring a vehicle.
In mid-December, a driver from Ace Taxi Company of Springfield allegedly picked up Jaeger, 29, at a house in Longmeadow and dropped him off at 19 Lockhouse Road, according to court logs.
According to the Ace Taxi driver, Jaeger told the driver to drop him in the complex not near Jaeger’s actual apartment.
Jaeger told the driver he would be right back to pay him for the cab fare owed, but the defendant never returned.
The driver waited 20 minutes before calling police.
Police were able to determine that Jaeger lived in Building 10 and questioned him about the incident. The cab driver was able to identify Jaeger as the sole passenger who had skipped out on paying his fare, according to court records.
Massachusetts law Chapter 266, Section 64 states:
“Whoever hires a horse, carriage or other vehicle, and, with intent to cheat or defraud the owner thereof . . . and whoever, with such intent, refuses to pay for the use of a horse, carriage or other vehicle the lawful fare established therefor by any town, shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two months, or both,” according to malegislature.gov.
The amount of the cab fare that Jaeger did not pay isn’t listed in the court records, but it’s likely it will turn out being a pretty expensive ride.
Jaeger is due back in court on May 27 for a pretrial hearing.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
