A 53-year-old taxi driver was arrested Tuesday morning in connection with punching another taxi driver in the face.

The 53-year-old taxi driver backed his taxi into the other driver’s vehicle that was parked in the 300 block of Howard Street at about 6:40 a.m. on Oct. 27 because he thought the 31-year-old driver had taken a customer from him, said Evanston police Cmdr. Joseph Dugan. When the second driver got out of the car to inspect the damage, the 53-year-old taxi driver punched him in the face twice, police said.

The driver who was punched told police the woman who got in his taxi was not a customer, but a friend who wanted “to sit and have a smoke while he was waiting for a fare,” police said.

The taxi companies are unknown.

The 53-year-old driver was charged with a misdemeanor for simple battery and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 30.

Evanston hair salon burglarized

A local hair salon was burglarized Tuesday night.

Police said the 65-year-old owner found the front glass door of the Robert Gold Salon and Spa in the 2900 block of Central Street broken and about $100 missing from the register on Oct. 27 at about 7:30 p.m.

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