Police Charge Cabdriver With Attempted Murder

A cabdriver was charged with attempted murder Saturday after an argument in a convenience store parking lot during which five shots were fired, Newport Beach police said.

The driver, Paul Dominic Jebbia, 33, of Sunset Beach was booked at City Jail and bail was set at $250,000, Detective Bob Worthen said.

Worthen said the other man involved in the dispute, Mark Malgieri, 24, of Santa Ana, appeared uninjured but might have been hit by tiny bullet fragments from a .22-caliber revolver taken from Jebbia. Malgieri was not hospitalized, the detective said, but he would be X-rayed to determine if he was hit by any of the pellets, which the detective referred to as “snakeshot.”

The incident occurred about 12:30 a.m. as Malgieri was leaving a 7-Eleven store at 15th Street and Superior Avenue, Worthen said. Malgieri had apparently told another cabdriver, Charles Bland, 32, of Santa Ana, to move his vehicle--which was partially blocking Malgieri’s car--and after exchanging a few words, Malgieri drove his car around Bland’s taxi and started to leave, the detective said.

Jebbia, who was seated in a cab across the street, allegedly began yelling at Malgieri, who then got out of his car and walked toward the cabdriver. Jebbia fired some shots as the man approached him, police said, although the shots didn’t strike Malgieri.

Malgieri, apparently figuring Jebbia had only a “cap gun,” continued to approach the suspect and got into a fistfight with him, Worthen said. Jebbia then ran off, and Malgieri returned to his car, Worthen said.

However, Jebbia had gone to get help from Bland, the detective said. Bland approached Malgieri, but when Malgieri started to leave, Bland also walked away, Worthen said. Jebbia fired at least one more round at Malgieri, the detective said.

Worthen said Malgieri planned to see a doctor to determine whether he had been injured.