LOS ANGELES : Man Gets Life Without Parole for Cabby’s Murder
An Inglewood man was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole this week for robbing and killing a cabby--a murder that led to a Los Angeles ordinance requiring installation of bulletproof glass in taxis.
Kenneth Eugene Redman, 23, displayed no emotion when Superior Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper sentenced him, then told him, “Good luck to you, Mr. Redman.” Redman was convicted in January of shooting Titus Imaku twice in the head on May 1, 1991, and dumping his body in a Los Angeles alley.
The 35-year-old Nigerian national and father of two had been moonlighting as a cabby for Taxi Systems of Long Beach while studying engineering at Cal State Long Beach.
His murder prompted the Los Angeles City Council to approve an ordinance requiring bulletproof glass between the front and back seats of cabs. The prosecutor said Imaku’s widow lobbied for the law both at the city and state levels. Redman’s lawyer, Mark Borden, said he will appeal.
The special circumstance allegation that led to the life without parole sentence was that the murder was committed during a robbery. Borden said he hopes to get the conviction reduced to first-degree murder, which would allow parole.
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