Just five days into the job, Ricardo Peter Francois was shot in the back of his head as he sat in the driver seat of his taxi in a Cobb County apartment complex.
The 23-year-old died, but it was several hours before someone called police after noticing the parked van's engine running outside a building at the Lincoln Hills complex, police have said. Cobb County investigators could find no witnesses to the November 2010 slaying.
The homicide became a cold case for police, who had few clues to go on -- until six weeks ago, when a teenager's arrest led to additional information and homicide charges.
On Jan. 20, Javin Rhashad Andrews, 17, was arrested for allegedly entering a classroom at Wheeler High School and stealing three wallets, according to his arrest warrant. Andrews was charged with burglary and credit card theft and booked into the Cobb County Jail, according to booking records.
Following the arrest, Andrews’ girlfriend sent text messages to friends about the arrest, including one message that prompted a student to go to an administrator, Cobb County police said Thursday during a probable cause hearing.
"The text message said that Rashad, who we identified as Javin Rashad Andrews, had killed the taxi driver in the back of Lincoln Hills and that it had been done with a gun," Detective John Dawes said in court, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Andrews allegedly admitted he was in the cab but told police he was with a friend at the time. Now, both Andrews and the friend, James Levone Mitchell, 20, of Columbia, S.C., are facing homicide charges.
Mitchell was arrested without incident Monday afternoon by U.S. Marshals and sheriff’s deputies in Columbia. He is awaiting an extradition hearing, Cobb police said.
Andrews remained in the Cobb jail Thursday without bond. He was 15 years old at the time of the shooting but has been charged as an adult.
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