The taxi driver who was held at gunpoint by a passenger - only to be saved by a cop - is speaking out about the heart-pounding armed robbery.
Ralph Valletta had his dash cam video recording on Monday when a passenger pulled out a gun and held it up to his head in Wyommissing, Pennsylvania.
The passenger then threatened to kill Valletta if he didn't hand over all of his belongings. Valletta was nervously searching for valuables to give the robber when he got a stroke of extremely good luck in the form of a cop pulling up behind him.
'I was never so happy in my life to see flashing lights in the rear-view mirror,' Valletta told WFMZ.
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Speaking out: Cab driver Ralph Valletta (left) was held at gunpoint on Monday, but sheriff's deputy Terry Ely (right) pulled up behind his car and saved him from the would-be robber
Robbery: Valletta pulled over his taxi in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, on Monday, a thug passenger decided it was a good time to rob him, not realizing a police car had actually pulled them over. Dash cam footage captured the heart-pounding robbery attempt
Arrested: Victor Martinez-Herrera, 18, has been charged with robbery, terroristic threats and a weapons charge
Berks County Deputy Sheriff Terry Ely said he was suspicious because Valletta's cab was stopped at a green light, so he got out to check that the driver and passenger were OK.
As he walked up to the cab, he heard the passenger threatening Valletta and jumped into action.
'Right when I hit the door, I heard the driver say, "Please don't shoot me," and "He has a gun to my head,'' Ely told the Reading Eagle.
'I immediately bent down and pulled my firearm out because I noticed he had a hood over his face when he looked over at me. I noticed the money in his hand and a black object in his right hand, and I started ordering him to drop the gun and get out of the car.'
The robber, identified as 18-year-old Victor Martinez- Herrera, was arrested at the scene and booked on charges of robbery, terroristic threats and a weapons offense.
He was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.
It transpired that Martinez-Herrera's gun was actually a Ruger pellet gun, but was outfitted to look like a real firearm.
In an interview with ABC News, Valletta says that this wasn't the first time he has been robbed on the job. When asked what was going through his head, the cabbie said: 'Give him what he wants and get out. I don't want to get hurt'.
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ShareValletta calls the cop who saved him his 'guardian angel' but Ely says he was just going his job.
'If that's how he feels that's great. We're out there everyday just trying to help out,' Ely said.
He told WFMZ: ' To see someone that's just out there trying to work hard to make a living and be victimized like that, my concern was all for him [the cab driver].'.
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