A suspect has been arrested in the Friday morning shooting death of a taxi driver at a Dekalb County apartment complex.
Cabbie Dedrick Darcelin was shot and killed at the Oak Creek Apartments in the 200 block of Northern Avenue, in the Avondale Estates area of DeKalb.
Pharoh Swindle, 19, was arrested around 7 p.m. Friday at an apartment complex near Memorial Drive, DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said Saturday.
He was charged with one count of murder.
“According to detectives, the victim was dispatched during the early morning hours Friday to the Auburn Avenue area in Atlanta to pick up Swindle,” Parish said. She said that at some point after arriving at the Oak Creek complex, Swindle allegedly shot and killed the victim and fled.
Parish told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that officers responding to a 2:30 a.m. call Friday about shots being found the victim unresponsive, slumped over the steering wheel of his minivan.
“It was later determined the driver suffered from a fatal gunshot injury,” Parish said. “He was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Parish said the victim was a driver for Checker Cab. Later Friday, a spokesman for Checker Cab identified the driver as Darcelin.
“We are deeply saddened my the turn of events this morning and regret to inform the public that this was one of our independent contractor drivers,” Atlanta Checker Cab owner Rick Hewatt said in an e-mailed statement.
“Dedrick Darcelin has been associated with our company for about six years and was a very good cab driver, a genuine nice guy,” Hewatt said.
Parish said robbery was believed to be the motive for the shooting.
She said detectives from DeKalb and Atlanta police were checking to see if Swindle was involved in any other crimes.
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