Man Punches Taxi Driver, Refuses To Pay Fare, Says 'I Don't Pay Non-Americans': Police

BRADLEY BEACH, NJ — An Ocean County man has been charged with robbery and theft after police say he punched a taxi driver and refused to pay a $12 taxi fare on Sunday in Bradley Beach.

Kevin S. Tague, 36, of Jackson, was arrested early Sunday by Bradley Beach police after the incident, which started after Tague sought taxi service from Homestead Taxi from Asbury Park to Belmar, according to the criminal complaint released by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

For reasons that are unclear, however, Tague got into a verbal dispute with the driver while they were in Bradley Beach, roughly 2 miles north of his intended destination.

According to the criminal complaint, Tague argued with the driver and then, with both of them outside the taxi, the dispute turned physical. Tague punched the driver in the left cheek and shoved him backward into the taxi, saying, "I don't pay non-Americans," and ran off, Bradley Beach police said in the complaint.

Tague was arrested a short time later and charged with second-degree robbery and with theft of services, "specifically by refusing to pay the driver knowing that said service is only available for compensation," the complaint said.

Tague was taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institute in Freehold Township but has since been released, according to inmate records online.

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