Cabbie stabber Jermane Stevens sentenced in court for violent attack over $21 fare, coins

Shocking new details have emerged about a violent Hermit Park armed robbery where a taxi driver was stabbed in the chest over $100 in coins and a $21 cab fare.

A taxi driver was left in a serious condition following an attempted robbery that ended with him being stabbed in Hermit Park.

Shocking new details have emerged about a violent Hermit Park armed robbery where a taxi driver was stabbed in the chest over $100 in coins and a $21 cab fare.

The new details were revealed in court when the armed robber, 18-year-old Jermane Stevens, was sentenced for the crime.

Now aged 19, Stevens was apparently on meth when he used his then-girlfriend’s phone to book a cab in Garbutt for a trip to Currajong.

Around 3am, the taxi arrived and one minute into the trip Stevens changed the drop-off address to Garbutt, the court heard.

When it came time to pay the $21 fare, Stevens apparently “rustled around” in his bag before producing a large kitchen knife.

A taxi driver was left in serious condition following an attempted robbery that ended with him being stabbed in Hermit Park.

Defence barrister Michael Hibble said his client had intended to “simply do a runner” but things changed last-minute.

Judge Gregory Lynham was played the full recording of the armed robbery, captured by the taxi’s internal cameras.

“You leaned over to him and said ‘we can do this the easy way or the hard way, or I can stab you in the fucking throat’,” Mr Lynham read out in court.

The 69-year-old taxi driver, described as being “clearly shocked” in the footage, then responded: “say again, mate?” and Stevens did, indeed, repeat himself.

The court heard the taxi driver moved to retrieve his wallet, and Stevens “inadvertently knocked” the gears of the taxi making it roll back in reverse.

A taxi driver was left in serious condition following an attempted robbery that ended with him being stabbed in Hermit Park.

The taxi had a tub containing a cash float in the driver’s footwell, as Stevens went to get it, he raised the knife up and fell out of the car.

When the taxi driver attempted to drive off, Stevens re-entered the car and stabbed him in the abdomen, thigh, palm and more, before falling out of the car again with the cash float box containing $100 in coins, the driver’s personal car keys, and a gate clicker.

The taxi driver drove a distance before calling triple-0.

Paramedics stabilised him and stopped the bleeding from the stab wounds, and he underwent emergency surgery on the abdomen stab wound which had gone through his abdominal wall and impacted the area around his liver.

A taxi driver was left in serious condition following an attempted robbery that ended with him being stabbed in Hermit Park.

The court heard Stevens had a terrible criminal record for a 18-year-old, having been sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court on August 22, just one month before the stabbing, for entering a home and stealing a Porsche car.

This means Stevens was on parole when he stabbed the taxi driver, something Judge Lynham considered an aggravating factor.

Once Stevens was arrested for the taxi driver stabbing, police also linked him to a violent altercation that occurred on July 24, in West End earlier that year.

The court heard a man who owned a LandCruiser and Porsche chased two men away from his home at 3am.

The next day while at work, he decided to drive home and retrieve his Porsche to stash it at work in case the men came back.

A taxi driver was left in serious condition following an attempted robbery that ended with him being stabbed in Hermit Park.

When he reached his house with a co-worker, they discovered a stolen Holden parked behind the Porsche and two men trying to break into the Porsche with bolt cutters.

Stevens was linked to the scene because he left a fingerprint on the Porsches’ door handle.

When confronted, the court heard Stevens received a machete from the stolen Holden and chased the owner around, swinging it.

Judge Lynham said it appeared Stevens was “completely off the rails”.

Mr Hibble said his client wasn’t from a bad family, but had fallen in with a bad friend group as a 12-year-old.

“To be frank he probably thought it was a game... most young people think it's a game, they’re in and out of Cleveland and they boast about what they have and haven’t done,” Mr Hibble said.

“But in my opinion he has matured in prison.”

Crown prosecutor Sophie Roseby said it was concerning that Stevens was yet to show remorse or engage in programs, despite now being in custody for 615 days.

Judge Lynham sentenced Stevens to two years imprisonment for the West End machete chase, and six-and-a-half years for the armed robbery of the taxi driver, to be served at the same time.

Stevens was given a slightly delayed parole eligibility date of March 23, 2026.

Originally published as Cabbie stabber Jermane Stevens sentenced in court for violent attack over $21 fare, coins