Following a ride in a cab, a 17-year-old Newport, Rhode Island, youth tried to rob the driver. The youth first threw a large rock at the driver, hitting him in the head, and then he pulled out a long screw- driver and threatened to kill him. The quick-thinking cabbie stepped on the gas--throwing the youth against the seat--then stopped and pulled a 9 mm pistol, which he was licensed to carry. He radioed his dispatchers to call police and held the youth until they arrived. The young crook had a history of criminal activity and had been reported missing from a state program for juvenile offenders.