Suspect Arrested After Cabdriver Is Robbed, Shot

A cabdriver from Downey was robbed, shot and his vehicle stolen by a passenger he had driven to Fullerton, police reported Sunday.

Officers said the gunman was arrested in the cab a short time later while still in Fullerton.

Michael Page, 27, escaped with only a superficial wound after being shot in the head in the Saturday night incident, police said. Page was treated at St. Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Fullerton.

Police said the episode began at about 8:40 p.m. when Page picked up a man in Norwalk who said he wanted to go to Fullerton. When the cab reached the intersection of Highland and Glenhaven avenues in Fullerton, the passenger pulled a gun, robbed Page of his wallet, then shot him in the head.

“Fortunately the head wound was not serious,” Lt. Bud Lathrop said.

The passenger took over the cab and tried to flee, but police stopped the vehicle a few minutes later at Commonwealth and Euclid avenues. The suspect--a man in his 30s who told officers his name was Michael Phillips, and that he was from Idaho--was booked into city jail, police said.