GLOVERSVILLE – Schenectady police said officers arrested an 18-year-old Gloversville woman Saturday for stabbing a taxi driver.
Desere Shaw was charged with first-degree assault, fourth-degree grand larceny and attempted murder, all of which are felony charges, police said.
Police said she stabbed 28-year-old Derek Leach, a Glove City Transportation taxi driver who had driven her to Schenectady, on Thursday near an apartment building.
Schenectady police said Leach was stabbed in the area of Eastern Avenue and Nott Terrace just before 7 p.m. Thursday. He was able to call 911, and when officers responded, they found him bleeding at the Schenectady County Public Library.
Schenectady Police Department spokesman Lt. Mark McCracken said emergency personnel from the Schenectady Fire Department stabilized the driver before he was airlifted by helicopter to Albany Medical Center Hospital.
McCracken said Leach’s injuries were serious, but not life threatening.
Jake Spraker, owner of Glove City Transportation, said the driver was discharged from Albany Medical Center on Friday.
“I know at one time I think [the passenger] was going to Johnstown Price Chopper and she wasn’t going to go to Schenectady and then she was,” Spraker said.
Spraker said he has spoken with Leach since the incident. He said Leach is still shaken up over what happened.
Spraker said Shaw was a regular customer of the cab service.
Gloversville Police Department Detective Mike Calbet said Shaw’s mother brought her to the station because she wanted to talk to the police.
“We contacted the Schenectady Police Department and the detectives came up and interviewed her here,” Calbet said.
Shaw was arraigned Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
