Clement Pryor
March 12, 2003
Lafayette, Louisiana

The Advertiser
(Lafayette, Louisiana)
June 30, 2004

Scott man gets life sentence  
Laxey pleads guilty to shooting taxi driver to death.  

Richard Burgess 
rburgess@theadvertiser.com  
 
June 30, 2004 
  
LAFAYETTE - A man accused of shooting a taxicab driver to 
death during a robbery last year was sentenced Tuesday to life in 
prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.

Peter Roosevelt Laxey III, 27, of Scott was accused of killing 
Dixie Cab driver Clement Pryor during a March 2003 robbery 
near Debaillon Park and Walker Road.

Pryor, 60, was a retired tax auditor with the Lafayette Parish 
School Board. He had taken the taxi job only three weeks earlier 
to keep busy and earn extra money, friends said.

Prosecutor Luke Edwards said the shooting occurred after Laxey 
called a cab with the intent of robbing the driver and purchasing 
crack cocaine.

Edwards said Pryor responded to the call but told Laxey he could 
not give the man a cab ride because Laxey refused to pay up 
front.

"Pryor said he wouldn't take him anywhere, and then he (Laxey) 
pulled out a pistol and shot him in the face," Edwards said.

Edwards said Laxey then stole Pryor's wallet, which contained a 
small amount of cash.

Laxey was set for trial next month. He could have been 
sentenced to death if he had been convicted.

The plea agreement reached Tuesday for the life sentence was 
approved by Pryor's daughter.

When the judge asked Laxey if he wished to make a statement 
before entering the guilty plea, he turned to the daughter and 
said, "My condolences ... I'd like to say I'm sorry to the family. 
That's it."

Dixie Cab owner Joe Yousef said the shooting prompted him to 
begin training new drivers on how to evaluate potential 
customers.

"Sometimes, it's just something you feel in your gut," Yousef 
said.

Yousef said he believed Laxey deserved the death penalty.

"But at least we know there is one less dangerous man who is 
not going to be on the streets," Yousef said.  

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