16-year-old accused of killing Pennsylvania cabbie for taking long route

A 16-year-old boy shot a cab driver twice in the head in Scranton, Pa., because he believed the man was trying to rip him off, police said.

Aazis Richardson was charged with murder Friday night in the death of Vincent Darbenzio, 47, whose body was found in his cab shortly before 5 a.m. Friday near the entrance to a Scranton housing complex.

“Richardson said he got upset because the cab driver was taking the long way and ripping him off,” police wrote in a criminal complaint posted online by The Times-Tribune of Scranton. The complaint said Richardson told investigators the driver kept taking a longer route even after being told shortcuts.

Richardson told police he became angry and shot Darbenzio after telling him to pull over, according to the complaint.

While in police custody, Richardson told reporters he had killed the driver because he wouldn’t take his preferred route. Asked if being ripped off was reason to kill someone, Richardson replied, “To me, it is.”

Investigators said they traced the cellphone call that requested the cab to a home next door to one Richardson frequented. Richardson was arrested after police said they found him hiding in the shared attic. A handgun was also recovered.

The woman who placed the call told police she did not know Richardson but called the cab for him because he said he did not have a phone.

It’s not clear if Richardson had an attorney.

Darbenzio started working for the cab company last month.

Agencies/Canadajournal