WEWS - Cleveland, Ohio
1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays
Watch Now
Watch Now
1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays
WEWS - Cleveland, Ohio
Watch Now
Watch Now
Close x
Live Watch
Alerts
  • News
    • Local
    • Cleveland Metro
    • Akron Canton
    • Ohio
    • National
    • World
    • Schools
    • In-Depth
    • Two Americas
    • Missing Persons
    • Made Us Smile
    • Your Service
    • NASA Glenn
  • News by County
    • Cuyahoga County
    • Stark County News
    • Summit County
    • Lake County
    • Lorain County
    • Medina County News
    • Geauga County News
    • Portage County News
    • Ashtabula County News
    • Wayne County News
    • Ashland County News
    • Erie County News
    • Richland County News
    • Holmes County News
    • Huron County News
    • Tuscarawas County News
    • Carroll County News
  • Watch News Live
    • News 5 Now Sunday Afternoon
    • News 5 livestream event
  • Weather
    • Hourly Forecast
    • Daily Forecast
    • Live Radar
    • Severe Weather Awareness
    • School Closings
    • Severe Weather Alerts
    • Weather News
    • Live Cameras
    • Power Outages
    • Tornado Safety
  • Traffic
    • Traffic Map
    • Traffic News
    • Gas Prices Cleveland and Akron
  • Sports
    • Browns
    • Browns Player of the Game
    • Cavaliers
    • Guardians
    • Ohio State
    • Student Athlete of the Week
  • We Follow Through
  • A Better Land
  • Let's Go NEO
  • Investigations
    • All Investigations
    • Breaking Their Silence
    • Dangerously Understaffed
    • County Jail
    • Fertility Clinic Failure
    • Cleveland Water
    • Diagnosis: Debt
    • Social Insecurity
    • Domestic Violence
  • Originals
    • Delivering Better Results
  • Continuing Coverage
    • Lachelle Jordan
    • East Palestine Train Derailment
    • Jayland Walker
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • Coronavirus
    • Vaccinating Ohio
    • Schools
    • Medical Marijuana
    • Shane Bartek
    • Amy Mihaljevic
    • James Skernivitz
    • Police Violence Protests
    • Frank Q. Jackson
    • Opioid Crisis
    • Rocky River Reservation Murders
    • Alishah Pointer
    • 137 Shots
    • Slavic Village Quadruple Homicide
    • Di'Yanni Griffin
    • Lead Safety
    • Aniya Day-Garrett
    • Samuel Legg
    • Shawn Grate
    • Shutdown in Lordstown
  • Politics
    • Local Politics
    • Elections Local
    • Ohio Politics
    • National Politics
    • Elections National
  • Money
    • Don't Waste Your Money
    • Consumer News
  • Lifestyle
    • Cleveland Public Library
    • Mark's Garden
    • Your Health Matters
    • Pets
    • Pet of the Weekend
  • Entertainment
    • TV Listings
    • Events
    • Concerts
    • 100 Hidden Gems
    • 50 Best Patios
  • Videos
    • News 5 Now Sunday Afternoon
    • News 5 livestream event
  • Podcasts
  • Academic Challenge
  • Spotlight 5
  • Mark's Garden
  • Ohio Lottery
  • About Us
    • Staff
    • Sales Staff
    • News Literacy
    • Contact Us
    • News 5 Apps
    • Moving Forward
    • Advertise
    • WEWS: The first 70 years
    • Support
    • TV Listings
  • Sign In
  • Newsletters
  • Sign Out
  • Manage Emails
  • Apps
  • Careers Search
  • Weather
  • Stream News 5
  • Contests
  • Local Business Spotlight
  • We Follow Through
  • Academic Challenge
  • WHN? Newsletter
  • Moving Forward
  • Contact Us
1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays
NewsNational News

Actions

  • Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Email

'Taxi service' owner in Ohio is not only missing a license — he's also a registered sex offender

Owner of Lakewood Smart Taxi is not only missing a license, he's also a registered sex offender
By: Amanda VanAllen
Posted at 7:08 AM, Aug 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-15 12:13:26-04

LAKEWOOD, Ohio — When she heard Jimmy Adkins was running his own taxi service in Ohio she immediately warned her friends and family.

"We want people to know that he's out there," said a witness who did not want to be identified.

That's because the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department says Adkins is a registered sex offender. One that's been convicted twice, in his most recent crime involving a young relative.

"My niece was living with him and that's when he made the attempt to have sex with her," said the witness.

Adkins is running a service called Lakewood Smart Taxi.

He needs a license to run his service, but he doesn't have one. Just last month, he got arrested for transporting passengers without it.

But even if he applied for that license, there's no way Adkins could get one.

"That's the thing, within the city's ordinance, they require that you have a clean record," said Derrick Russell, a consultant of Ace Taxi, a legitimate taxi company in Cleveland.

Five years ago Russell fired Adkins because of his criminal record.

"I was shocked, I've done investigations for insurance companies for a number of years and major companies, I had not seen a record like that," said Russell.

He says Lakewood Smart Taxi isn't the first of its kind.

"Anyone can put a magnet on the side of their car and call themselves a taxi because unfortunately, the regulations are really gray in that area, but the other thing is there is no enforcement," he said.

The family of Adkins' victims is advising against getting in his car.

"Lord knows what he can do, and it's just not safe, it's not safe, you know what I mean there could be anything that could happen," said the unidentified witness.

Adkins was contacted multiple times for comment but never called back.

>>REPORTER

When she heard Jimmy Atkins was running his own taxi service she immediately warned her friends and family...

 

(18:12:35)

We want people to know that he's out there

 

>>REPORTER

That's because the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department say Atkins is a registered sex offender. One that's been convicted twice-- in one case the crime involved a young relative.

 

(18:14:22)

My niece was living with him and that's when he made the attempt to have sex with her

 

>>REPORTER

Atkins is running a service called "Lakewood Smart Taxi" - he needs a hack license to do that which he does not have - and about a month ago got arrested transporting folks without it.

Even if he applied for that license - there's no way he could get one.

 

>>DERRICK RUSSELL, ACE TAXI CONSULTANT

(17:02:29)

Is he allowed to drive taxi's as a registered sex offender?

That's the thing, within the city's ordinance, they require that you have a clean record

 

>>REPORTER

That's Derrick Russell--he's a consultant for Ace Taxi and 5 years ago he fired Atkins because of his criminal record.

 

>>DERRICK RUSSELL, ACE TAXI CONSULTANT

(17:11:11)

I was shocked, I've done investigations for insurance companies for a number of years and major companies, I had not seen a record like that

 

>>REPORTER

Russell says "Lakewood Smart Taxi" isn't the first of its kind....

 

>>DERRICK RUSSELL, ACE TAXI CONSULTANT

(17:06:36)

Anyone can put a magnet on the side of their car and call themselves a taxi, because unfortunately the regulations are really gray in that area, but the other thing is there is no enforcement

 

>>REPORTER

His victims family advising against getting in his car...

 

(18:17:48)

Lord knows what he can do, and its just not safe its not safe, you know what I mean there could be anything that could happen

 

AMANDA TAG:

WE REACHED OUT TO ATKINS MULTIPLE TIMES. I GOT HIM ON THE PHONE ONCE, I TOLD HIM WHAT MY STORY WAS ABOUT AND HE ABTRUPTLY HUNG UP AND NEVER CALLED ME BACK.

RUSSELL FROM ACE TAXI IS ADVISING FOLKS TO MAKE SURE YOUR RIDE SHARING SERVICE IS AT LEAST REGISTERED WITH THE STATE OF OHIO BEFORE GETTING INSIDE.

LIVE IN LAKEWOOD, AMANDA VANALLEN NEWS 5.

 

 

Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Sign up for What Happened Now? - a daily email newsletter spotlighting the top news in the Cleveland area each day.

now signed up to receive the What Happened Now?

Click here to manage all Newsletters
Download our streaming app on your favorite device.  Click here for more.

Click here to see stories with Hope and Heart.

  • Northeast Ohio Traffic
  • News
  • Consumer
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Life
  • Video
  • Marketplace
  • Don't Waste Your Money
  • Support
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Center
  • Journalism Ethics Guidelines
  • Terms of Use
  • EEO
  • Careers
  • FCC Public Files
  • FCC Application
  • Public File Contact
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Closed Captioning Contact

Social

  • News5Cleveland
  • WEWS
Scripps Media, Inc
Scripps Local Media
© 2023 Scripps Media, Inc
Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way