Police seek cab driver's killer
Homicide victim remembered as talented musician
Taxi driving can be dangerous job
Taxi robber shoots self
Prosecutors will seek death penalty in taxi cab driver's killing
Airport employees resuscitate cab driver
Review of taxi fares likely to lead to standard rates
Shenzhen taxi drivers to get refund soon

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Casper Star-Tribune
(Casper, Wyoming)
August 21, 2005

Police seek cab driver's killer

By ANTHONY LANE
Star-Tribune staff writer Sunday, August 21, 2005

Police are investigating the death of a cab driver found killed
inside his car early Thursday morning next to Meadow Park in
western Casper.

Gregory Clarkson, 25, was killed at about 6 a.m. as he was
driving for R.C. Cab Co., according to Casper Police Lt. Mike
Moore. Police released a sketch and description of a man
identified as a "person of interest" in the investigation of the
killing on Thursday evening.

The man is described as a thin 18-year-old with short or shaved
brown hair and no facial hair. He is said to be about 5 feet 10
inches tall and was seen traveling westward on foot between
6:30 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. close to the 1300 block of Birch Street,
police report.

Moore said earlier on Thursday afternoon that police were
following "numerous leads" in the case. Anyone with information
connected with the homicide or about the "person of interest"
described by investigators is asked to contact police (please see
box).

The neighborhood surrounding Meadow Park was quiet Thursday
morning as investigators worked behind yellow tape and orange
cones. Mike Blonigen, Natrona County's district attorney, said
the homicide is thought to be the first in Natrona County since
September 2003.

Meadow Park forms a small triangle along the south side of 15th
Street a few blocks west of McKinley Elementary School. It is
surrounded by houses on all sides and is separated on two sides
from back yards only by the width of two gravel alleys.

Clarkson was seen at about 6:30 a.m. "slumped over" inside the
cab he was driving, Moore said. The car was tucked in on the
edge of one alley near the park's southern edge. Moore said its
engine was still running when investigators arrived.

The car was visible directly from Ben Howard's yard. He pointed
to the open window leading to the bedroom where he said he
spent a sleepless night following a long day of fishing.

"I can't believe I didn't hear a shot," Howard said. He said he
noticed the motion-activated light in his back yard come on twice
during the night, in one case triggered by a car he thought
passed at around 4 a.m.

While police would not talk about the weapon they thought was
used in the homicide, investigators seemed to be looking for
evidence of stray bullets. Woody Bertz, who lives next to the
park, said police talked with him about a hole in the side of his
house.

The hole, Bertz said, had been there for a long time.

There is a picnic table at the southern end of the park and there
are playground areas along its eastern alley. Investigators
seemed particularly intent upon examining that alley as it runs
toward 15th Street, and they had raised an extra layer of yellow
tape around a playground area beside it.

Police were also seen looking into trash cans lining the alleys.
City officials apparently suspended waste collection in the area
as the investigation continued.

Tari Jewett stood outside her home on 15th Street as police
blocked both entrances to the park. She said she had not heard
anything unusual during the night or morning until police arrived.

Then, she said, her first thought was to lock the door.

"I moved here from Los Angeles to get away from this," Jewett
said.

Jewett and other neighbors commented on the common sight of
teenagers in the park and their suspicions that they consume
alcohol and use illegal drugs there.

Becky Smith said she and her boyfriend were excited when they
bought a house backing onto the park. She said she had thought
the area to be safe until she learned of the killing from
investigators walking the area Thursday morning.

"This is not what we had in mind," Smith said.

Reporter Anthony Lane can be reached at (307) 266-0593 or at
anthony.lane@....

Star-Tribune reporter Tom Morton contributed to this report.

Police seek help

Anyone with information about Thursday morning's homicide of
a cab driver near Meadow Park is asked to contact police by
submitting a tip at www.crime-stoppers.com, calling
CrimeStoppers at (307) 577-8477 or Casper police at
(307) 235-8286 or (307) 235-8278.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Casper Star-Tribune
(Casper, Wyoming)
August 21, 2005

Homicide victim remembered as talented musician

By ANTHONY LANE
Star-Tribune staff writer Sunday, August 21, 2005

Melissa Clarkson rocked gently back and forth on Friday
afternoon as she listened to a song performed by her husband. A
tear ran down her cheek as she sat in the apartment he rented in
western Casper.

A photograph of Gregory Clarkson, who was shot to death in
Casper on Thursday morning, hung on the wall nearby.

"I was so proud of him," Melissa Clarkson said.

A complicated picture of Gregory Clarkson has emerged since
his death. Family members describe him as a talented musician
and a loving husband and son.

Melissa Clarkson said she and her husband were working to
maintain their relationship even as a court order forced them to
live apart and kept him from seeing their two older children.

"He was my other half," Clarkson said.

"Why would you have to shoot him?" she asked of her husband's
killer, speaking before police announced an arrest in connection
with the case later in the afternoon.

Clarkson said her husband lived in Casper most of his life. They
went to different high schools, but met when she was 17, he 16.

The relationship that started soon after endured in the years that
followed, Clarkson said, even during the years Gregory was
deployed in Kuwait with the U.S. Army.

The two were married in 2000 and have two daughters and a
son.

The relationship endured even after Gregory Clarkson pleaded
guilty in January 2003 to two counts of taking immodest, immoral
or indecent liberties with a child.

Melissa Clarkson said she last saw her husband early Thursday
morning before he started his shift driving a taxi for R.C. Cab
Co. She said he loved the job he had only started a week earlier.

Police say he was killed in an apparent robbery attempt at about
6 a.m., slightly more than an hour after his wife last saw him.

After learning what had happened, Clarkson said, she has found
it comforting to be in his apartment, where she can be near his
guitar, his harmonica and other artifacts of his life. She paged
through a photo album she started putting together Thursday
night.

Inside, she said, she placed a letter her husband apparently
wrote but never showed her. The letter was Gregory's attempt to
explain his love for her, Clarkson said.

Gregory's mother, Sonnie Rodenburg, described her son as a
"fabulous, up and coming musician." She spoke warmly of his
service in the Army and said he was a "chatterbox" who was
happy with his new job driving taxis.

A notebook filled with songs and pages of a story rested on a
futon next to Melissa Clarkson as she finished listening to one
song her husband had professionally recorded, a track called
"Helpless." She said Gregory told her she was the inspiration for
his music.

He had big plans for the future, Melissa said

"That person took away a great talent," she said.

Reporter Anthony Lane can be reached at (307) 266-0593 or at
anthony.lane@....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Casper Star-Tribune
(Casper, Wyoming)
August 21, 2005

Taxi driving can be dangerous job

By ANTHONY LANE
Star-Tribune staff writer Sunday, August 21, 2005

The shooting death of a Casper cab driver on Thursday stunned
many in the community.

But for taxi drivers and those who devise ways to keep them
safe, it is also a reminder of the danger accompanying a line of
work that often requires drivers to give rides to complete
strangers.

"I'm all shook up about this," said James Szekely, director of
International Taxi Drivers Safety Council. Szekely spoke of the
1,220 taxi driver murders listed at the Web site, www.taxi-l.org

Gregory Clarkson's death, which Casper police say occurred
during the course of a robbery, will likely be the next name on a
list that includes cab drivers killed from as far back as 1887 in
countries as far away as India.

The list does not now include any names from Wyoming.

Violence involving Casper cab drivers, however, is not new. In
January, a man was arrested on suspicion of punching a taxi
driver after he reportedly did not like the fare.

Police said the man was intoxicated at the time.

The reality is that cab drivers often transport passengers who
can be intoxicated and who have unknown dispositions and
intentions, Szekely said.

Lt. Mike Moore of the Casper Police Department said he is
unaware of any requirements for special safety equipment that
would apply to taxis operating in Casper.

Taxi owners are required to provide proof of insurance and other
information as they register their fleet with the city.

At the moment, R.C. Cab Co., which lists eight cars in its fleet, is the only
licensed taxi operator in Casper, according to city
officials.

Clarkson started working for the company last week, family
members say. Police say he made a call on his radio between 6
and 7 on Thursday morning and said he was being robbed. He
was later found in his car where it was resting beside Meadow
Park, dead of a single gunshot wound.

Keith Jordan Booth, 18, was arrested on Friday in connection
with the shooting.

Szekely said he stopped driving cabs in December 1984, under
similar circumstances.

"I had my throat cut" and was stabbed twice in the back in a
robbery attempt, Szekely said He said his assailant's aggression
was unnecessary -- he would have handed over his money or
even written a check to the robber.

Since the attack, Szekely said, he has advocated for the
installation of safety devices in all cabs. In particular, he said,
small security cameras, emergency "hijack" lights and safety
partitions separating drivers from their passengers can improve
driver safety.

Szekely said he does not think such measures are impractical or
undesirable in small cities and towns, where drivers still must
operate in possibly dangerous situations.

"We're talking about an occupation where they're picking up
hitchhikers for a living," Szekely said.

Reporter Anthony Lane can be reached at (307) 266-0593 or at
anthony.lane@....

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Jamaica Observer
(Kingston, Jamaica)
August 20, 2005

Taxi robber shoots self

Observer Reporter
Saturday, August 20, 2005

ONE of two robbers who commandeered a taxi Thursday night
was mortally wounded when his gun went off when he was
challenged by a policeman along Oxford Road in Kingston. His
crony was apprehended.

The Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) said yesterday
that the identity of the dead man had not yet been ascertained,
but said charges of robbery with aggravation and illegal
possession of firearm and ammunition were laid against the
second robber, a 15 year-old boy of Hagley Park Road, Kingston
11.

The CCN said that at about 8:20 pm the two, one armed with a
handgun, held up and robbed a taxi operator of his Toyota
Corolla motor car at Caledonia Avenue.

"On reaching the intersection of Oxford and Old Hope Roads the
car crashed and they ran onto Oxford Road. A policeman in
plainclothes observed their suspicious behaviour and they were
challenged," said the CCN.

The CCN said that one of the robbers attempted to pull a firearm
from his waistband and inadvertently shot himself in the groin
and died on the spot. The juvenile was then apprehended and
was charged by the Half-Way-Tree police.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Muskogee Phoenix
(Muskogee, Oklahoma)
August 20, 2005

Prosecutors will seek death penalty in taxi cab driver's killing

By Chris Pryor
Phoenix Staff Writer

Muskogee County prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a
man charged in the first-degree murder of a taxi driver.

Muskogee County District Attorney John David Luton said the
July 31 shooting death of Robert Lawson, 38, was atrocious and
that the man who did it deserves to die.

Jason Lamont Jackson, 19, the man charged in the crime, has a
preliminary hearing set for Oct. 25 in Muskogee County District
Court.

"I think the death penalty is the appropriate penalty for the crime
he committed and the way he committed it," Luton said.

This is the third death penalty case filed in Muskogee County
since 1993, Luton said.

Luton lists three aggravating circumstances that are grounds for
seeking the death penalty:

*The murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or
preventing identification, lawful arrest and prosecution.

*The murder was "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel."

*Jackson will probably commit another crime, "as shown by
(his) utter disregard for human life and the callousness of his
acts."

The jury at Jackson's trial must unanimously approve at least
one of those circumstances to then be able to sentence him to
death, Luton said.

Lawson, who was driving a taxi for Mi Ryde, was shot about 9:30
p.m. July 31 after picking Jackson up at 402 W. Augusta St. and
taking him to a vacant house at 4807 Oklahoma St. Police
arrested Jackson after he called another cab company to pick
him up about an hour after the shooting a block east from where
Lawson dropped him off.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Island Packet
(Hilton Head, South Carolina)
August 21, 2005

Airport employees resuscitate cab driver

BY MONIQUE GREEN, The Island Packet
Published Sunday, August 21st, 2005

Employees at the Hilton Head Island Airport are used to calming
frantic passengers, but they had no idea that saving a life was
written in their skies.

US Airways Express workers performed CPR on a taxicab driver
who suffered a heart attack Thursday morning, helping keep him
alive until emergency units arrived.

The unexpected drama began when a passenger told a customer
service agent that her taxi driver had collapsed while he was
removing her luggage from the cab's trunk. From there, the
entire team sprung into action.

The driver, whose name could not be released because of
privacy issues, had no pulse, and his tongue had fallen back into
his throat, blocking his air passage. Bart Korb, a customer
service agent for US Airways Express, used his belt strap to hold
the man's tongue in place to free his airway.

"His eyes were closed," said Herb Hook, another US Airways
Express customer service agent. "He was turning purple. You
could tell he couldn't breathe."

Randall Zeh, a flight attendant's son, breathed into the man's
mouth with an airway mask, while Hook pumped his chest.

The crew remained calm and blocked out everything around
them, focusing on keeping the man alive, Hook said.

"I just kept talking to him," he said. "I was saying, 'Hang in there
buddy; just don't let go.' I just wanted him to live."

Zeh and Korb performed CPR until the Hilton Head Island Fire
and Rescue Division arrived.

Emergency personnel quickly determined the man was in
cardiac respiratory arrest, said Joheida Fister, spokeswoman for
Hilton Head Fire and Rescue. They treated him at the scene for
about 20 minutes, then took him to Hilton Head Regional
Medical Center.

A driver from JW's Palmetto Taxi told airport workers Friday that
the man is in critical condition and still unconscious at the island
hospital.

"The happy part about it is that he's still alive," Hook said.
"People at the hospital said that if we hadn't done what we did,
he wouldn't have made it."

Though many of the airline staff said they've never participated
in such a rescue effort while working, it was all in the line of duty.

"Our No. 1 concern is to make sure our passengers are taken
care of, and that's what we did," Hook said. "That's the most
important thing, to take care of someone in need."

Contact Monique Green at 706-8113 or
mgreen@....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Irish Times
(Dublin, Ireland)
August 22, 2005

Review of taxi fares likely to lead to standard rates

Olivia Kelly

Taxi rates in some areas are set to fall in the coming months
following suggestions from the commissioner for taxi regulation
that some fares were too high.

Ger Deering has also ruled out adding a 50 cent surcharge to
fares in compensation for the increase in oil prices, a concession
sought by the National Taxi Drivers' Union last week.

Taxi fares until now have been decided separately by each local
authority, leading to huge variance in charges around the State.

Mr Deering takes over responsibility next month for setting the
fare. He intends to conduct a review of rates and will set a single
national charge. "The fares around the country vary so much and
fares are too high in some areas.

"I've even had taxi drivers contact me because they thought the
fares in their areas were too high."

In some counties it was the hiring charge that was too high, he
said.

This basic charge varies from 90 cents up to €3.75, with the
higher charges discouraging customers from using taxis for
shorter trips.

"I want to see a fare that first of all is value for money, that
encourages use of a taxi particularly for short journeys, while at
the same time making it worth people's while supplying the
service. In some cases the hiring charge may be far too high.
Having a graduated fare based on distance will make it easier to
understand and more straightforward to use."

Mr Deering said he could not meet driver's demands to add an
extra charge for fuel to the fare because he did not have the
legal authority. He added the proposed 50 cent surcharge was
not practical anyway.

The taxi drivers' union called for the introduction of the charge
last week because of the rapidly rising cost of petrol and diesel.
It had hoped the charge would be in place by the middle of next
month.

"There's been a lot of talk about a fuel surcharge. There seems
to be this notion that I can just shove 50 cents on, I can't," Mr
Deering said. "There's a particular process in law that has to be
gone through."

To make any change to what drivers charge, the regulator must
make a maximum fares order. This involves consulting local
authorities, the Taxi Advisory Council and the Legal Metrology
Service. There would be a major overhaul of fare structures in
early 2006, he said, and fuel costs would be considered.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shenzhen Daily
(Shenzhen, China)
August 22, 2005

Shenzhen taxi drivers to get refund soon

BEIJING, Aug. 22 -- Shenzhen taxi companies were told by the
municipal communications bureau Friday to refund taxi driver's
leasehold payments before the end of September.

They were also banned from charging drivers cash deposits or
leasehold payments except for a security guarantee deposit,
which is no more than 90,000 yuan (US$11,000) for each taxi.

Sun Yuzheng, a local taxi driver, said the move had been widely
acclaimed by his colleagues who realized that the government
would really do something for them this time. "My company has
informed us it will refund our leasehold cash by the end of
September. Deducting the 90,000-yuan security deposit and two
years' depreciation, I may get 20,000 to 30,000 yuan leasehold
back," Sun said.

The bureau has long been vowing to streamline the taxi trade
management by clarifying the taxi property right as well as the
relationship between taxi companies and drivers, which is
considered a main reason to hamper the rectification in the taxi
industry.

There are 73 taxi companies in the city and most of them have
charged drivers with a cash deposit, which could amount
between 140,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan for a taxi.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ender Wiggen


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