William James Wright
December 19, 2005
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Winston-Salem Journal
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
December 20, 2005

Cab driver found dead lying on road, police say

Taxi believed to be his found burning nearby

By Dan Galindo
JOURNAL REPORTER

A taxicab driver was found dead on a street last night and within
an hour a taxicab was spotted on fire within a short distance of
where he died, police said.

Police and paramedics were called to the intersection of Voss
Street and Ohio Avenue, which is off Old Rural Hall and Motor
roads, at 7:23 on a report of someone lying in the road.

They found William Wright, 55, of 2908 Patterson Ave., whom
police officers at the scene recognized as a driver for Willard's
Cab Co., said police Lt. Mike Flowe.

Wright had two wounds in the back of his head. "We don't know
exactly what those wounds are at this point," Flowe said late last
night.

At 8:24, a fire engine was dispatched to a vehicle fire at Field
Lane and Oak Ridge Drive, which is off Old Walkertown Road.
Firefighters arrived to find a Willard's taxicab on fire.

Police said they believe that the cab is Wright's and were
working last night to make sure, Flowe said.

The cab fire was declared under control at 8:39.

A K-9 tried to track a scent from the area of the fire, Flowe said,
but it yielded no results.

Residents on Voss Street periodically poked their heads out of
their homes last night and asked what was going on.

Police had marked about seven pieces of evidence in the
intersection but Flowe declined to say what the evidence was.

Detectives had no information on a suspect last night, Flowe
said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Winston-Salem
police at 773-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 727-2800.

. Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at
dgalindo@wsjournal.com

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

News-Record
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
December 21, 2005

Police: Cab driver shot to death

WINSTON-SALEM - A cab driver whose body was found in a
road Monday had been shot in the head, police said preliminary
autopsy results revealed.

Authorities found William Wright's body in the 5000 block of
Ohio Avenue, according to Winston-Salem police.

Wright was a driver for Willard Cab Company.

At 7:30 p.m. Monday, a vehicle that turned out to be his cab was
found burned on Field Street.

Wright's death was Winston-Salem's 16th homicide this year.

Police ask people with information to call the Winston-Salem
Police Department at 773-7700 or Crimestoppers at 727-2800.
The Spanish language line is 728-3904.

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

WFMY-TV Channel 2
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
December 22, 2005

Police Make Arrest In Cabbie Murder

A 19-year-old man has been charged with first degree murder in
the case. William Wright was found dead on Monday night.

Winston-Salem, NC -- Police in Winston-Salem have arrested a
man they say is to blame for the murder of a local cab driver.

Police arrested 19-year-old Daniel Learmond Hayes on
Wednesday and charged him with first Degree Murder for the
death of William Wright.

Wright, a driver for the Willard Cab Company, was found on
Monday night in the 5000 block of Ohio Avenue suffering from
injuries to the back of the head. He was pronounced dead at the
scene.

Police say Hayes is in custody at the Forsyth County Detention
Center under no bond allowed and a trial date is pending.

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

Winston-Salem Journal
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
January 13, 2006

Behind the Wheel

Picking up fares in Winston-Salem is all in a day's work for
cabby on road for 35 years

By Jim Sparks
JOURNAL REPORTER

Many people spend their working lives behind a desk. Melvin
Bankhead prefers the freedom of the road.

For 35 years, Bankhead has viewed life on the streets of
Winston-Salem from behind the wheel of a cab.

Bankhead, a driver for Bluebird Cab Co., has thrived in an often-
rough business by sticking to a simple philosophy: treat people
with respect, no matter what their walk of life.

"Everybody's got the same attitudes and problems. You just
have to learn how to treat people," Bankhead said last week
while leaning on the door of his leased cab in the parking lot of
Bluebird's garage off Sixth Street downtown. "It doesn't cost you
a thing to say something nice, and that can be all it takes to turn
somebody around."

A few minutes later, Bankhead had to take off after dispatcher
Willie Hill barked a call out over the loudspeaker about a waiting
fare.

Inside the office, Hill, a longtime Bluebird dispatcher, said that
Bankhead is well thought of on the job.

"He's a good driver because he'll go anywhere we tell him and
takes as good care of the little trip as the big fare," Hill said. "If
it's a little old lady with her groceries or an executive going to the
airport, he'll help them both just the same."

Bankhead, 58, is Bluebird's most veteran driver and one of its
most popular. Folks calling Bluebird for a taxi often ask for
Bankhead by name.

"If you're honest with people, they call for you," Hill said. "People
call for Melvin a lot."

Herman Mazzeo, Bluebird's owner, calls him a cabdriver's
cabdriver.

"If you're looking for a cab driver, he's your guy," Mazzeo said.

Bankhead grew up in Winston-Salem and started driving a cab in
1971. He now drives during the day, but for the first eight years,
he drove at night, a time, as he says, "when all the crazies come
out."

It was then that Bankhead learned how to avoid problems by
quickly sizing up people. If things didn't look or feel right, he
learned to drive on by. Although he has been smart, he knows
that he has been lucky, too.

Despite driving hundreds of thousands of miles, he has been
seriously injured only once - in a wreck a few years ago that left
him with back and neck injuries.

Bankhead has never been robbed or violently injured on the job,
although he has found himself in a few situations where he felt
he could have been.

He once had a gun pointed at his head and was told to drive bya
man who jumped back in his cab after being involved in a
shooting. The man ran away after Bankhead was able to pull
over a few miles later.

"I was scared to death on that one," Bankhead said. "I had to
stay calm and think fast."

The shooting death of a cabdriver last month served as a stark
reminder for all the city's cabdrivers of the bad that can happen.

On Dec. 19, Williams James Wright, a driver with Williard Cab
Co., was shot in the head during a shift behind the wheel.
Bankhead often drank morning coffee with Wright at local
convenience stores.

Although Wright's death refocused attention on the dangers that
can come with driving a cab, Bankhead tries not to dwell on
them, he said, as he drove through the West End to meet a fare
heading to the airport.

As Bankhead was talking, Hill burst in over the radio, hollering
"Where are you at, drivers? Get out of the bed."

Bankhead just shook his head and laughed out loud.

Because drivers depend on dispatchers to send fares their way
and help with directions, having a good working relationship with
the person on the other end of the radio is crucial to a having a
good day.

"You don't want to make your dispatcher mad," Bankhead said.
"If you take care of your dispatcher, they'll take care of you. You
argue with your dispatcher, you are asking for a world of trouble."

Because Bankhead leases his cab, Bluebird on most days gets
the first $75 that he earns in fares. He also has to buy his own
gas. He either drives his cab home or takes a bus. He often
works six days a week.

Bankhead said that although driving a cab probably won't make
you rich, you can make enough to get by.

Drivers who work steadily can make about $30,000 a year, he
said.

Bankhead tries to take an even approach toward money, working
enough to meet his needs but not enough to burn out.

"Some drivers pick and choose, but you've got to work the whole
city, that's where the money is at," said Bankhead as he carried
a woman to her housekeeping job at a Buena Vista home last
Friday.

"If you hustle, you can make a lot of money. But if you try to
make it all, you'll lose it all. That's why you need to aim at
making a certain amount every day and get used to that."

Bankhead has six sons and a daughter, all grown.

One of his sons works as a Bluebird supervisor in Lexington.
Although Bankhead likes talking about his children, marriage was
a different story.

"I don't want to go there," Bankhead said shaking his head and
cautiously smiling.

Although the hours can be long, and the world dangerous, there's
a lot that Bankhead likes about his job.

He likes tracking down addresses and meeting new people.

He enjoys seeing the city's downtown buildings framed by the
early-morning sky as dawn breaks.

He feels he learns something new about the city's people and
places every day.

Most of all, Bankhead likes driving a cab because it gives him a
sense of freedom.

"Basically, you're on your own. You get to move around and
meet people," Bankhead said.

"When you're driving a cab, no one's looking over your shoulder
telling you what to do and how to do it. I like being free."

. Jim Sparks can be reached at 727-7301 or at
jsparks@w...

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

[Re: arrest, see near end of this article on a later murder]

Winston-Salem Journal
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
October 6, 2006

Police investigate shooting death of taxicab driver

Winston-Salem man was found on East 25th Street

By Dan Galindo
JOURNAL REPORTER

A Winston-Salem man died early yesterday after he was shot
twice and his taxicab crashed into a pickup.

Winston-Salem police, firefighters and paramedics were called
to a house at 622 E. 25th St. on a report of a shooting at 1:38
a.m. yesterday.

They found Bira Gueye, 47, a driver for Willard Cab Co., behind
the wheel of his cab. It had struck a white Ford F-150 that was in
the driveway of the house, knocking the pickup into a fence.

An ambulance took Gueye to Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center, where he died at 2:25 a.m.

Before the shooting, Gueye's cab had been dispatched to the
2500 block of Patrick Avenue, the block of Patrick just north of
the driveway where he crashed.

Police are looking for a man who was seen near the cab just
before the shooting. He was described as black, 20 to 25 years
old, wearing a white polo shirt and light-colored pants. Police
said they did not know in what direction he left.

The bullet that killed Gueye went into his back near his left
shoulder blade, through his left lung, aorta and heart, then came
out the right side of his chest, said Dr. Donald Jason, the medical
examiner who did the autopsy.

Another bullet went into Gueye's chest on his left side and was
recovered from the soft tissue in the right side of his abdo-men.

There was a grazing wound on one of his arms, but Jason said it
was not clear whether that was from a third bullet or from the
path of either of the other two.

In a brief interview, William Crichton, the man whose truck
Gueye struck, said he awoke early yesterday to a loud bang, one
distinct from the noise of a train on the railroad tracks east of his
house. He went outside, saw the cab and truck but didn't
approach. He said he doesn't have a phone at his house, so he
knocked on neighbors' doors to use theirs. Eventually he flagged
down a car and called 911.

Several neighbors said they had not heard any gunshots or
unusual noises that night.

One woman, who asked not to be identified because she feared
for her safety, said she heard the crash and saw three boys or
young men running up Patrick Avenue, one of them wearing a
black Carolina Panthers jersey and holding onto his pocket.

Betty Turner, Gueye's wife, said that a detective told her that
more than one taxi had been dispatched to the house where
Gueye's car crashed.

At least one other cab had been sent out to the area but Coy
Willard Jr., Gueye's boss, said that police asked him not to
release any details about dispatched taxis during the
investigation.

Police did not say if Gueye was robbed, although Turner said
that a detective asked her where her husband kept his money
from fares.

Gueye was originally from Senegal, in western Africa, and came
to New York about 10 years ago, Willard said.

He had worked at Willard for about eight years and owned his
own cab, paying Willard for dispatch service.

Turner said that Gueye still had brothers and sisters in Senegal.

He was a quiet man, who enjoyed playing soccer and doing
mechanical work, Turner said. "He was always out somewhere,
fixing someone's car," she said.

He kept a small group of friends that he knew through the
Community Mosque of Winston-Salem, she said.

Studies that cite data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
often show that driving a taxicab is among the most dangerous
jobs nationwide.

Winston-Salem is no exception, as Gueye's death is the second
slaying of a cab driver in about 10 months.

Turner said that Gueye knew that his job was dangerous but had
never been attacked or felt he was in a dangerous situation.

In December 2005, William "James" Wright, a driver for Wil-lard,
was shot dead and his cab was found set on fire.

Police arrested Daniel Learmond Hayes, 20, on a first-degree
murder charge in that case.

Gueye's death is the 18th homicide in Winston-Salem this year.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 727-
2800.

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

Winston-Salem Journal
February 8, 2007

Man may face death
He is charged with murder in 2005 shooting

By Titan Barksdale
JOURNAL REPORTER

A man charged with murder in the shooting death of a cabdriver in Winston-Salem 
in 2005 faces the possibility of the death penalty when the case goes to trial 
later this year.

Daniel Learmond Hayes, 20, was told by prosecutor Jennifer Martin during an 
administrative hearing yesterday in Forsyth Superior Court that the case 
warrants the death penalty. Hayes is accused in the shooting death of William 
"James" Wright, 55.

Under state law, a judge can't impose a death sentence unless a prosecutor has 
given notice of intent to request the death penalty.

Martin said that the crime was made worse by at least two factors: It was 
committed to get money, and it happened during the course of a robbery. Martin 
revealed few other details about the case.

"It's the state's evidence that (Hayes) ... ordered a cab to take him to a 
false address and when he got there he shot and robbed (Wright), and left him 
there to die," Martin said. "And then he burned the cab."

A man saw someone lying in the road on Ohio Avenue and called Winston-Salem 
police on Dec. 19, 2005, according to Winston-Salem police. The man found on 
the street was Wright, who was a cabdriver for Willard's Cab Co. He had been 
shot twice in the back of his head.

About an hour later, at 8:30 p.m., Wright's cab was found burning on Field 
Lane, a short road off Oak Ridge Drive. Wright's boss has said that the last 
call that Wright went to was on Northampton Drive. All of the streets are on 
the city's northeast side.

Clark Fischer, an attorney for Hayes, did not contest Martin's intent to pursue 
the death penalty and said he would likely do so a later date.

Relatives and others in the community held a vigil for Wright about a month 
after he was killed. Wright's son, Christopher, said during the vigil that he 
is struggling to forgive for his father's killer.

Relatives of Wright who attended yesterday's hearing refused to comment.

Hayes did not speak during the hearing.

A criminal record search shows only traffic infractions against him.

The case may go to trial at the end of the year, said prosecutor David Hall, 
who attended the hearing.

• Titan Barksdale can be reached at 727-7369 or at tbarksdale@wsjournal.com.

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

Winston-Salem Journal
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
September 6, 2007

Man pleads guilty to robbing, killing cabdriver

He gets life in prison instead of possible death penalty in deal

By Dan Galindo
JOURNAL REPORTER

After robbing a Winston-Salem cabdriver of $40, shooting him in the back 
of the head and setting the cab on fire, Daniel Learmond Hayes used the 
man's cell phone to call 1-900 numbers, Forsyth County prosecutors said 
yesterday.

Using the phone is what led police to arrest him in connection with the 
slaying of William James Wright, a driver for Willard Cab Co., prosecutors 
said after Hayes pleaded guilty to murder charges in Forsyth Superior 
Court and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

"He was very, very busy with the victim's cell phone hours later," said 
Jennifer Martin, an assistant district attorney.

Hayes, 21, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors 
that spared him the possibility of the death penalty.

His attorneys, Lisa Costner and Clark Fischer, said that the sentence of 
life without parole is fair.

"We achieved a just punishment while recognizing the Wrights' loss," 
Fischer said. "I do believe, to the best we can, this plea carried out 
justice."

Hayes' explanation for the crime, according to testimony, was that on the 
night of Dec. 19, 2005, he wanted to "hit a lick," meaning rob someone.

So he told Wright to take him to a fake address. When the car was on 
Ohio Avenue, Wright was shot twice.

Hayes' account was that after he told Wright to "give it up," he saw Wright 
reach for something, and the gun Hayes was carrying somehow went off, 
according to testimony.

"Obviously we don't believe that - we think he just shot him in the back of 
the head twice," said Jim O'Neill, an assistant district attorney.

O'Neill said that Hayes later used Wright's phone to call a friend, who drove 
him to a street off Oak Ridge Drive. That's where he burned the cab to hide 
evidence.

Police checked cell-phone records and found Hayes three days later 
through the friend, who O'Neill said was not charged because there was no 
evidence he was involved in the crime.

Detectives found Wright's cell phone with Hayes when they picked him up 
for questioning, and Hayes led them to the murder weapon.

Hayes told the court that he accepted responsibility and apologized to 
Wright's family.

Wright's daughter, son and former wife had asked for a plea offer to avoid 
the death penalty.

"We decided pretty quickly that we don't want to cause any pain for 
anybody else," daughter Jeri Wright said.

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