2 Teens Held, 1 Sought in Cabby Killing

Two teenagers were arrested Wednesday and another was sought in the shooting death of an illegal cabdriver late Tuesday, police said.

The attack on the Harbor Freeway near the Exposition Boulevard exit stemmed from a minor traffic collision earlier in the evening, said Los Angeles Police Lt. Roger Deranian. The cabdriver, a man in his 50s, and the other person involved in the accident apparently had resolved the matter, Deranian said.

But 19-year-olds David Rodriguez and Joel Argueta and a 17-year-old male followed the cabdriver and a woman passenger, police said. They knew the person involved in the accident with the cabdriver, he said.

“The suspects saw this as an opportunity to rob the cab,” Deranian said. As the cab began to exit the northbound Harbor Freeway on Exposition, the suspects’ car drove alongside and opened fire, he said. The man was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

Police said the suspects left without robbing him or his passenger. She was not hurt, Deranian said.

LAPD and California Highway Patrol officers soon swarmed the area, searching for the suspects. Their car was found later at Grand Avenue and 39th Street, police said.

Rodriguez was arrested at his home early Wednesday. The 17-year-old was arrested at his home hours later.

Police are searching for Argueta, Deranian said.

“With witnesses willing to get involved, we were able to nail things down pretty fast,” Deranian said.

Anyone with information may call detectives at (323) 846-6556.