Jagjit Singh
July 10, 2007
Seatac, Washington

Tacoma News-Tribune 
July 10th, 2007

Body discovered inside burned taxi

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A burned taxicab was found with a body inside this morning in SeaTac 
near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and King County sheriff’s 
deputies said the death was being investigated as a homicide. The body 
was burned beyond recognition and the cause of death remained 
undetermined as investigators went door to door asking residents what 
they saw or heard, sheriff’s Sgt. John Urquhart said. Farwest Cab 
officials and drivers said a male driver in his early 40s with about two 
years of experience was dispatched about 3:30 a.m. to the address where 
the taxi was found. More than two dozen cab drivers were at the scene. 
Some told KIRO-TV the dead person had been working the overnight shift 
to raise money to visit his wife this summer in India.

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

Stacy K Anderson
Seattle WA USA

I will relay anymore info that I get. Some drivers believe the cab
was burned to damage the camera recording device. No report if it 
was damaged or not.

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

Seattle Times
(Seattle, Washington)
July 10, 2007

Body found in burned taxi cab near Sea-Tac airport

By Maureen O'Hagan
Seattle Times staff reporter

The victim was found dead in his cab about 3:30 a.m. 
Investigators offered few clues as to what happened but said the 
death is being investigated as a homicide.

Dozens of Sikhs gathered in a SeaTac neighborhood today, 
mourning the death of a local taxi driver.

The victim, also Sikh, was found dead in his cab about 3:30 a.m. 
after firefighters responded to a call about a car fire. After 
dousing the flames, they made the grim discovery near South 
177th Street and 38th Avenue South.

King County Sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart offered few 
clues as to what happened but said the death is being 
investigated as a homicide.

Fellow cab drivers said the 43-year-old victim had been 
dispatched to pick up a passenger in the area just before he was 
killed.

The driver has not been officially identified, but friends and a 
relative say he was a four-year resident of SeaTac, originally 
from India. For the past three years, he worked the night shift for 
Farwest Taxi.

He was married in January to a woman in India, and he had 
hoped to bring her to the United States soon, according to a man 
who identified himself as the victim's nephew. The nephew said 
he planned to call her tonight.

Friends say the victim had gained permanent resident status and 
described him as a nice, polite and helpful man.

Lakhvir Singh, secretary at the Singh Sabha Temple of 
Washington, said the victim volunteered at the Renton temple, 
cooking and distributing food.

Another friend recalled the victim's generous spirit. One night, 
when the victim had finished a shift when he was working at gas 
station, he dashed over to another station to fill in for a friend 
who desperately needed some time off.

In 2004, after another taxi driver was killed, the city of Seattle 
required that digital cameras be installed in every cab. The 
cameras snap photos of anyone who's picked up, which are 
recorded in a sort of black box hidden in the vehicle. . A back-
seat sign in each cab informs riders about the camera.

That could be why the perpetrator set the taxi on fire, taxi driver 
Vikram Bains speculated. "Maybe he thought he'd destroy the 
black box," he said.

Although drivers are well aware of the dangers inherent in the 
business, many say it's rare that they're victimized. In 14 years 
of driving the day shift, Bains said someone ran off without 
paying only a few times.

But, he said, "the risk factor is multiplied when you drive at 
nighttime."

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

KIRO - Channel 7
KIROTV.com
July 18, 2007

Taxi Cab Driver Shot In Head

SEATAC, Wash. -- According to the King County medical examiner 
43-year-old Jagit Singh, the taxi driver found dead on July 10, 
was shot in the head.

Singh’s body was discovered in a taxi engulfed in flames in 
Seatac in the early-morning hours of July 10.

According to police, Singh had been dispatched to the Seatac address 
where he was dispatched to pick up a passenger before he was killed.

Investigators said they have not named any suspects in the case.

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

The Seattle Times
(Seattle, Washington)
July 18, 2007

Taxi driver was shot in the head

By Seattle Times staff

A taxi driver whose body was discovered earlier this month after 
his cab was found in flames died after being shot in the head, the 
King County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday.

Jagit Singh, 43, was found dead in his cab about 3:30 a.m. on 
July 10 after firefighters responded to a call about a car fire near 
South 177th Street and 38th Avenue South in SeaTac.

King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart said the case is 
under investigation. No arrests have been made.

Fellow cabdrivers said Singh had been dispatched to pick up a 
passenger in the area just before he was killed. A four-year 
resident of SeaTac, he originally was from India.

For the past few years, he had worked the night shift for Farwest 
Taxi.

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

The Seattle Times
(Seattle, Washington)
July 26, 2007

Probe of cabdriver's death leads to arrest in Chicago

By Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporter

The man charged with robbing and killing a taxicab driver July 
10 in SeaTac had earlier talked to a friend about "jacking 
someone" after losing money playing dice, according to charging 
papers.

Earnest Collins, 18, was arrested Monday in Chicago in 
connection with the shooting death of Jagit Singh, 43, whose 
burned body was found in his charred cab outside a SeaTac 
home. Collins was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder.

Collins is believed to have called Farwest Taxi around 2:30 a.m. 
to summon a cab, said King County sheriff's spokesman John 
Urquhart. When firefighters responded to a call about a car fire 
near South 177th Street and 38th Avenue South, they found 
Singh dead in his cab.

Singh died from two gunshots to the head. Authorities say the 
killer then started a fire on or near the cabbie's lap, according to 
court papers.

Deputies were led to Collins after determining the call 
summoning a cab was made from his home, which was near 
where the cab was found, according to charging papers. Several 
people identified Collins' voice on the taxi company's recorded 
line, charging papers said.

Investigators also found burned clothing at the home that Collins 
shared with his parents and siblings, Urquhart said.

Investigators found a trail of pennies leading from the burned 
taxi to a driveway near Collins' home. A friend said Collins had 
recently lost money in a Seattle dice game and talked about 
"jacking someone" to earn that money back, charging papers 
said.

Investigators tracked Collins to Chicago, where a friend of his 
girlfriend lived. Authorities said that since Singh's slaying, 
Collins' girlfriend wired him $115.

Collins was arrested by Chicago police; he is expected to be 
extradited to Seattle next week.

Collins' family declined to comment Wednesday.

Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's 
Office, said his office has not yet decided whether it will upgrade 
the charge to aggravated first-degree murder. Such a charge 
could allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

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

MSNBC.com
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:21 a.m. PT July 26, 2007

Pennies led to suspected killer
Police say trail from burning car went to teenager's home near Seattle

SEATTLE - A trail of pennies from a burning taxi cab led authorities to the 
home of a teenager, who is now charged with killing the cab driver, authorities 
said.

Driver Jagit Singh had been the working the night shift for Farwest Taxi when a 
caller reported seeing a cab in flames and rolling backward down a street 
around 2:30 a.m. on July 10, King County Sheriff’s Detective Eleanor R. Broggi 
wrote in a court affidavit.

Singh was found dead inside with two gunshots to the back of his head. Nearby, 
a trail of pennies led up the driveway of a home, Broggi wrote.

Earnest Lenell Collins, 18, and his 16-year-old brother lived in that home, 
near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and a search turned up clothing with 
burn marks, investigators said.

Brothers

The two brothers were arrested in Chicago on Monday and were awaiting 
extradition, sheriff’s Sgt. John Urquhart said. Collins, charged with murder, 
was being held Wednesday on $5 million bond. A message left Thursday morning 
with the Cook County Department of Corrections press office was not immediately 
returned.

Collins’ brother, whose name was not released, was held on an unrelated 
fourth-degree assault warrant.

Prosecutors said robbery appeared to be the motive for the killing.

Friends of the two told investigators Collins had been losing money playing 
dice at a housing project in Seattle and talked about “jacking someone” or 
robbing cab drivers to get cash, according to documents filed by prosecutors 
Tuesday in Superior Court.

Several people also identified Collins’ voice from a recording of the initial 
call to Farwest requesting a cab, and the call was traced to a cellular 
telephone that Collins’ girlfriend said she had sold to him, according to the 
court filings.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be 
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19975005/

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

KOMO-TV

RENTON, Wash. -- Taxi service came to a halt in parts of King County on 
Saturday while cab drivers took time out to honor a fallen friend.

Hundreds gathered to bid farewell to Jagit Singh, who was found with two 
gunshot wounds to the head inside his burned Farwest cab. Investigators 
believe a teenager shot the driver for easy money, then set the the cab 
on fire.

"They call him for service, when he goes there they kill him. that's a 
very sad story," said Ephrem Assafa, a cab driver.

On Saturday, drivers lined up to accompany Singh for one last ride down 
the SeaTac streets he used to drive. The procession even passed by the 
street where Singh was found dead.

Singh immigrated to the U.S. seven years ago and moved to Seattle to 
work for Farwest taxi and support his new wife in India.

"He was a very nice guy, very helpful, very supportive anytime friends 
needed help," said Harinder Singh, a friend.

Singh's wife, who lives in India, could not attend the funeral because 
the U.S. Embassy denied her request for a visa.

Nearly all the cab drivers who work for Farwest Taxi are east-Indian 
Sikhs from the Punjab region. They raised nearly $10,000, hoping to fly 
in Singh's widow in time for the cremation ceremony. But in the end, 
Singh's tight-knit Farwest family had to tend to his last needs without 
her.

"We want to just help. We think we are family members, you know," said 
driver Bhupinger Singh.

Investigators have charged 18-year-old Earnest L. Collins, Jr., with 
first-degree murder in the shooting of Singh. Friends and associates 
told investigators Collins had been losing money gambling with dice at 
a housing project in Seattle and talked of "jacking someone" or robbing 
cab drivers to get cash.

"What kind of blood (does) he have, what kind of heart (does) he have? 
What kind of parents (does) he have?" said Sukchain Bahwait, a driver. 
"(An) eye for (an) eye, (a) tooth for (a) tooth, I'd like to have him 
dead."

Collins was captured in Chicago on July 25th. He is awaiting extradition 
with bail set at $5 million.

Singh is the second cab driver to be murdered in Seattle in the past 
three years.

Drivers are now calling for city leaders to respond with tools that will 
protect them on the job.

"It's a dangerous job, one of the most dangerous ones out there," said 
Stacy Anderson, a driver. "It can happen anytime. You can do everything 
right and it can still happen."

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

KING-TV Channel 5
July 28, 2007

Slain cab driver honored with procession of taxis

By LINDA BRILL / KING 5 News

RENTON, Wash. - More than 100 taxi cabs formed a long and slow 
procession through south King County Saturday, as part of a memorial for 
a taxi driver murdered on the job.

The procession pulled into the Sikh temple in Renton to honor Farwest 
driver Jagjit Singh, 42, who was from India.

He was recently married and working to bring his wife to America.

"He just got married and the sad thing is she didn't get a visa to come 
over here," said Harjinder Kabarwal, former cab driver.

Nearly two weeks ago, Singh's body was discovered in his burned out taxi 
at SeaTac.

Suspect charged for death of taxi driver

Police say the killer called for a cab, robbed him, shot him and set his 
cab on fire.

A man who was staying at a nearby house, 18-year-old Earnest Collins, 
was arrested in Chicago and charged with first degree murder in the 
case.

Now there is sadness and outrage among the community of taxi drivers.

Fellow cab drivers brought money for the victim's family this week.

About $20,000 has been raised so far, to have his ashes sent home to 
India.

The temple president says cab companies must do more to protect drivers.

"We will definitely ask the cab companies to put the fire-proof cameras 
very shortly," said Harinder Bains, Sikh Temple president, "were going 
to focus on that."

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

KING-TV Channel 5
(Seattle, Washington)
August 7, 2007

Cab driver's suspected killer arraigned

11:39 AM PDT on Tuesday, August 7, 2007
KING5.com Staff

Earnest Collins, 18, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, August 7, 
2007 to the murder of taxi driver Jagit Singh.

KENT, Wash. - Surrounded by tight security in court, the man 
accused of killing a taxi driver then setting his cab on fire 
pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

18-year-old Earnest Collins is charged with first-degree murder in 
the death of Far West Taxi driver Jagit Singh July 10 during an 
apparent robbery attempt.

Collins was tracked down a few days later in Chicago,  Several 
people identified his voice on a tape as the one who called for 
the taxi.

The scene at the arraignment was a tense one, as family 
members of both Singh and Collins watched the proceedings.  
Fellow cab drivers and Sikhs also showed their support.

Singh, 42, was from India.  He was recently married and was 
working to bring his wife to the United States.

This news digest is for informative purposes only. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 and The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, Article 10, news clippings on this site are made available without profit for research and education.

[ Back to top ]