Night Rider

There is little Tommy Fernandez hasn't seen in his rear-view mirror.

"I've had people start to get it on," says the 32-year-old Las Vegan. "I've had them pass out drunk."

Fernandez is one of 2,213 cab drivers prowling the valley's streets in search of not only a living, but some excitement.

"I love this job," he says. "Any night, you never know what you're gonna get."

It's a typical Saturday morning in Yellow Cab 3260, as the Review-Journal joins Fernandez for the tail end of his 10-hour shift.

12:11 A.M.

A male voice breaks the radio static. It's a phone call from a customer. Fernandez is one of the 150 members of Yellow's Elite Fleet. They take turns answering calls while driving.

"It's like we're mobile dispatchers," he explains.

Fernandez identifies his cab as the closest to the Mark I Apartments.

Within two minutes, he's driving Rajon Lewis from his friend's place to Bally's, where the 24-year-old hopes to turn $200 into the seed money for a lucrative poker career.

"Wish me luck," Lewis says as he exits.

12:28 A.M.

A man standing in the intersection of Flamingo Road and Swenson Street flails his arms to flag Fernandez down. His chest is bare, his eyes red and his legs wobbly.

Fernandez shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders in response.

"We're not allowed to stop on the street anymore," he notes. "But I wouldn't pick up a guy like that even if he called."

Drivers can refuse anyone they feel threatened by.

"So far, I've never gotten held up or assaulted," Fernandez says.

If things ever do get hairy, Fernandez can utter a code word into his microphone. That word -- which Yellow Cab asked the R-J not to reveal -- is designed to sound natural to the passenger, but alert other cabbies to an emergency.

"If you say it, we'll have 10 cabs on you like that,"

Fernandez says.

In addition, a DriveCam Internet camera -- mounted inside every Las Vegas cab -- points at Fernandez's back seat and constantly records. (It uploads information only when activated either by the driver or the force of an accident.)

12:53 A.M.

Fernandez points out the blue light flashing over the Marriott Grand Chateau.

"That means it's time for us to pick someone up," he says.

Three young women enter the cab and ask to go to New York-New York. They're beautiful, and they know it. The bar Coyote Ugly awaits.

"It's my 21st birthday," says the blonde who sits on the right and identifies herself as Nicole.

"We came today, and my husband's coming tomorrow."

"Your husband?" Fernandez replies. "You're married at 21?"

"We live in Salt Lake City," Nicole explains.

"I'm married with two kids," adds the brunette, who identifies herself as 24-year-old Chelsea.

They may be conservative on the inside, but the outside's up for grabs.

"We just got tattoos today," Nicole says. "All three of us."

Nicole reveals her naked back. It bears the words "More Than Life Itself" in blue ink surrounded by pink skin.

"My husband says that to me," Nicole says. "He loves me more than life itself."

Chelsea chimes in: "Are you paying for our cab fare? You're recording us for free." Fernandez laughs and apologizes. That's not part of the deal.

"That's straight Vegas, right there," he says. (Once they leave, he explains: "Girls are always trying to scam things off of guys here.")

"What's straight Vegas?" Chelsea replies. "Our (expletive)s?"

She points to her breasts.

"You've got perfect (expletive)s," Fernandez replies.

"Not me," Nicole says. "But I will after Aug. 15."

1:15 A.M.

Fernandez has a hunch that Ellis Island will have passengers and no cab line. (Cab lines eat into time and profits.)

He's correct. Los Angeles residents Misty and Keith Morris open the rear right door and ask to be driven to Wyndham Grand Desert on Harmon Avenue.

She's an IT business analyst. He's a truck driver. Earlier today, they got married by an Elvis Impersonator. This is the ride to their wedding night.

"He proposed two days ago," Misty reports. "Of course, I said yes. And he said, 'By the way, we're gonna get married (this weekend).' "

The trip was already planned.

"It would have sucked if she said no," Fernandez says.

2:32 A.M.

A blonde and a brunette enter the cab at the Royal Sahara Apartments.

"Where are we going?" Fernandez asks.

He already has an idea. The Las Vegas Lounge on Karen Avenue is the gathering place for the valley's transgendered crowd.

"We're transsexual lesbians," says the brunette, who identifies herself as adult film star and escort TS Foxxy. (Her friend does not identify herself.)

"She had a sex change and I didn't," Foxxy says, "so it works out nicely."

In case the situation needed clarification, the friend adds: "I removed mine a couple of years ago."

Judging from the squeamish look on Fernandez's face, the situation did not need clarification.

"Where's the camera?" asks Foxxy, posing while flirting with R-J photographer Martin Fuentes. "We love pictures."

The cab pulls up to the Las Vegas Lounge, where Foxxy is greeted by the smokers out front like Norm at Cheers.

"So do we get a free ride for doing this?" Foxxy asks Fernandez.

3:24 A.M.

"Wait!" Fernandez yells, raising the volume of his radio.

The driver of cab 2291 has just uttered the code word.

"Hey, this guy's getting robbed!" another driver shouts.

"Where is he?" Fernandez whispers to himself while listening.

"You gonna want me to respond to that?" the other driver asks the current dispatcher.

The location is the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Hall at 6801 Placid St.

"Yes, I do," the dispatcher answers.

The radio falls silent as all drivers lay off their "talk" buttons.

"The TA's there," says the other driver, referring to the Taxicab Authority.

"All right," the dispatcher says. "Any cabs who are going there, you can stand down."

3:28 A.M.

The silence breaks with a new passenger phone call, then the usual series of reports about which cab is closest.

"I don't know what happened," Fernandez says. "It could have been anything. I hope it's not serious."

3:31 A.M.

Fernandez pulls into the Treasures parking lot and waits 10 minutes on line, behind two cabs.

"Strip clubs are good," he explains, "because men tip better than women."

In addition, patrons of one gentlemen's club are likely to travel to another. And depositing passengers at strip clubs means illegal kickbacks. (According to Taxicab Authority chief investigator Joe Dahlia, drivers are not legally permitted to accept gratituities from anyone who's not a passenger.)

Fernandez refuses to disclose the amounts, or even provide a ballpark. But he admits that the kickbacks always exceed the cover charge per person.

"The clubs know that these people are gonna spend money," Fernandez says.

Two gentlemen enter the cab, identifying themselves as David and Naju.

"Can you take us to the Rhino for free?" one asks.

David and Naju are local. ("They know the game," Fernandez says later.)

Fernandez agrees to comp their fare (a $6.80 favor). Three minutes later, he approaches the Spearmint Rhino. The line to pick up passengers exceeds a dozen taxis, spilling out into the street. (Kickbacks tend to make drivers tolerate cab lines.)

A club employee directs Fernandez to park in a nearby lot. He also keeps an eye on David and Naju.

"They've got it down to a science," Fernandez says later. "They're not giving you a dollar if your guy walks off. And they know. They have 10 guys paying attention to everything that's going on."

Fernandez parks, then walks to a podium out front, where a dozen taxi and limo drivers wait for their passengers to "get cleared." Fifteen minutes later, David and Naju pay to enter and Fernandez receives his cash.

"It was a slow night," Fernandez says. "But capped off by that, it was a good night."

He estimates tonight's take at about $240, of which he will receive 40 percent.

4:02 A.M.

Fernandez arrives back at Yellow headquarters at the Las Vegas Beltway and Decatur Boulevard, where he discovers what really happened at 3:24 a.m.

During a confrontation with his passenger, driver Pojarut Vongmaniroj was stabbed in the neck and arm. (The 38-year-old Las Vegan was rushed to University Medical Center, where he was treated and released.) The confrontation occurred after Vongmaniroj's passenger insisted he had only $5 with which to pay a $12 fare.

"Wow, I'm in a little bit of shock," Fernandez says. "But you've got to have good faith in God."

As of this writing, the suspect is still at large, according to police, although his image was captured crisply by the DriveCam.

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0456.