Years After Crimes, DNA Cracks Cab Driver Assault Cases

A Blackwood man who terrorized and assaulted two female cab drivers in 2006 pleaded guilty to the crimes in court Wednesday.

Jason Handy, 33, of the first block of Willow Cedar Way, entered guilty pleas for charges of kidnapping and carjacking. He’ll learn his sentence Nov. 30 from Superior Court Judge Samuel Natal, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said.

Handy assaulted the first cab driver in Gloucester Township at knifepoint on March 28, 2006. He bound and gagged her before stuffing her in the trunk of the cab and driving to Camden. Handy abandoned the car with the woman still inside.

On May 1, 2006, Handy mounted a similar attack against a woman in Lindenwold. That victim escaped as Handy tried to put her in the trunk.

Both women freed themselves and reported the attacks to police.

Handy went free for three years before DNA evidence pegged him to the assaults. He had to submit DNA in conjunction with a conviction in 2009, and that sample matched evidence collected from the 2006 assaults.

Judge Natal and Handy have a history. According to state records, Natal previously sentenced Handy to four years in prison for robbery and one year for unlawful taking. Handy was sentenced on those convictions in July 2009 and released in October 2011.

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