By:Hector Flores
Now in jail, the cabbie, Christopher Willard, 26, of West Hempstead, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if all the charges against him are proved true.
Taxi licenses are required by state law for drivers of cab. The Town of Hempstead, which issues the licenses for cabbies employed anywhere within its borders, was aware of Willard's past drug arrests. As required by law, the town sent his taxi license application and fingerprints to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice in Albany last September, said Susie Trenkle, a town spokeswoman.
Before his records were returned from the state, the town issued Willard a temporary taxi license, allowing him to work as a cabbie. The temporary license expired Oct. 1, but Willard never called the town to renew it. Around this time, Hempstead officials called him to come in and review his application. By then, the town had his arrest records back from Albany. Willard never returned calls to the town, and he continued to drive a taxi for Long Island Checkered Cab in Merrick for the next four months.
"He got his temporary license, but it expired," said Trenkle. "He failed to follow up and did not receive his permanent license. We called him based on the issues needed to be resolved. He was on probation, and we needed a letter from his probation officer to continue with his application."
After that, the town never called Willard or his parole officer. Town officials contend that the taxi company is responsible for ensuring that its drivers are properly licensed, not the town.
According to police records, Willard was arrested for DWAI (driving while ability is impaired by drugs) on Aug. 24, 1999. He was originally charged with a misdemeanor, which was knocked down to a violation, for which he faced no serious penalty. Officials would not say what drug he may have taken while driving.
Willard was back in court on Sept. 10, 2001, when he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to time served, given five years' probation and had his driver's license suspended for six months.
Then, on Jan. 17 of this year, police arrested and charged Willard with raping a woman whom he had driven from a Westbury night club to a friend's house in Bellmore at 12:45 a.m. No one was at the house. Police allege that Willard drove the woman to an undisclosed location in Bellmore, raped her and stole money from her purse. Authorities say he then dropped the woman off at her friend's house.
Police later nabbed Willard at the Long Island Checkered Cab station in Merrick. When he spotted police cars parked at the station, he sped away, leading police on a 20-minute chase along the Southern State Parkway, before authorities captured him. He was charged with first-degree rape, third-degree robbery, first-degree reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.
Repeated calls to the Long Island Checker Cab company to see whether anyone there was aware that Willard was driving without a taxi driver's license were not returned as the Herald went to press.
Trenkle said the cab company has yet to be fined for allowing Willard to drive without a taxi license, but she did say it would eventually receive one.
