Police checking last fares of slain cabbie

Metro Police were combing through a Vegas-Western cab driver's last trip sheet to determine what fares he transported before his body was found inside his taxi Saturday morning.

Homicide Sgt. Kevin Manning said the victim, 55-year-old John Harris, appeared to have been shot.

Vegas-Western put out a call for the missing driver about 4 a.m. Saturday when the victim failed to contact the company at shift's end, which was about 3 a.m., Manning said.

A fellow cab driver who lives in the Sahara Palms apartment complex, 2900 El Camino Ave., spotted the victim's cab in the lot about 9 a.m. and called his dispatcher, who notified police, Manning said. Responding officers discovered the cab driver's body.

The company had last heard from the driver about 9:45 p.m. Friday, which authorities said was not considered unusual. Drivers often work without contacting their dispatchers.

Sven Nilsson, president of the nonprofit Professional Drivers Association, said several safety measures have been implemented over the years to protect cab drivers, including regular safety classes, broadening regulations permitting drivers to refuse passengers they have reason to fear, and automatic door locks.

Also relatively new is the addition of a green light affixed to the top of a taxi which, when flashing, means a driver is in trouble.

The murder marked the second cab driver killed in three months. Billy Rex Traver, 57, died Dec. 21 after being shot inside his North Las Vegas Cab Co. taxi in the 1600 block of Cadillac Lane. Traver's killer remains at large.

Authorities did not say whether the slain cab driver's green light had been activated when his body was discovered.

Anyone with information on the cab driver's murder is asked to call the homicide section at 229-3521. Anyone with information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers should call Secret Witness at 385-5555 and request a "SW" number to become eligible for a $1,000 reward.

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