Brooklyn man's cross-state taxi ride leads straight to jail in Uniontown

A Brooklyn man who took a cab from Philadelphia to Uniontown to surprise his fiancée instead found himself booked into the Fayette County jail when he couldn't pay the $749 fare, according to police.

John S. Williams Jr., 35, is charged by Uniontown police with theft of services in connection with the cross-state ride in a PHL Taxi.

The cab driver, Mohammed Uddin, called police to a Wilson Avenue home about 12:30 a.m. Saturday to report Williams' refusal to pay the fare, police said.

Uddin told police Williams and his children rode 304 miles from Philadelphia to Uniontown in his marked taxi, only to refuse to pay the bill when they arrived.

Williams told Patrolman Michael Bittner he had the cabby drive him to Uniontown because “he was trying to surprise his fianceé by coming to visit her,” according to police records.

“I asked Williams to pay the driver for the fare, and he stated he did not have the money and that his credit card was maxed out for the day,” Bittner said in his complaint.

When no one else had the cash to pay the driver, Williams was taken into custody and charged, police said.

His children were left in the care of a woman who lives at the house where Williams had the cab driver stop.

The woman told police Williams' visit was unexpected. The report gives no other information on the children.

Williams was arraigned before District Judge Mike Defino Jr. of Redstone and placed in the Fayette County Jail in lieu of $2,500 bail. He faces a July 7 preliminary hearing.

Liz Zemba is a Trib Total Media staff writer.