Cabby killed after taking men to bootlegger, charges say

Minneapolis Star-Tribune ^ | August 22, 2003 | David Chanen

[jdege]

Cabby killed after taking men to bootlegger, charges say

David Chanen, Star Tribune
Published August 22, 2003

Cabdriver Mohamed Salah's final fare lasted 18 minutes.

He picked up Salvador Pacheco and two other men at 12:55 a.m. Aug. 8, according to murder charges filed Thursday against Pacheco.

The charges say the men asked Salah to take them to a south Minneapolis "bootleggers" house, where liquor is sold illegally. There, they bought brandy.

[...]

Pacheco, 25, has spent much of the last six years in prison and had been released on probation in June. He was convicted of assault for his role in the murder of a 14-year-old boy in Hastings in 1997.

[...]

Salah's death followed the July 10 shooting death of cabdriver Ahmed Ahmed, 38, who was killed near 11th and Penn Avs. N. A man who was wanted for failing a court-ordered drug test, Sylvester L. Scott, 20, has been charged with first-and second-degree murder in that killing.

After the cabby deaths, city and state officials met to discuss safety issues. Some cabdrivers threatened to strike and on Monday about 60 of them drove to the State Capitol in a caravan to honor Salah and Ahmed.

[...]

Pacheco, who is being held at the Anoka County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail, was charged with second-degree murder and with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Minneapolis police knew Pacheco had been arrested on a probation violation Aug. 14 and was being held in a Duluth jail, which allowed them more time to put their case together.

In 1996, Pacheco violated his probation in St. Louis County. The next year, he was sentenced to three years for his involvement in the shooting death of 14-year-old Roger Wakemup.

Pacheco and Landry Goodwin, who was convicted of murder, got into a fight with the teenager. Pacheco slowed Wakemup as he ran out of a house and then he was shot by Goodwin, according to court documents.

Goodwin and Pacheco were members of the Vice Lords gang and told police that they believed that Wakemup's friend was a member of a rival gang. It's unclear whether Pacheco is still in a gang.

He was out of prison in 1999, but he was sentenced to more than six years in February 2000 for recklessly discharging a firearm and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was placed on probation again in June.

David Chanen is at dchanen@startribune.com.

[jdege]

So they found one of the cab shooters.

And he'd been convicted, before, both of violent felonies, and then again for being a felon in possession of a firearm, but was out on the street, early.

What a surprise.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The charges say the men asked Salah to take them to a south Minneapolis "bootleggers" house, where liquor is sold illegally. There, they bought brandy.

People bother to do this anymore? You can't buy the stuff legal within a reasonable distance of the city?

[jdege]

There are liquor stores all over the city, and I have no idea why anyone would choose a bootlegger, or how they attract enough custom to stay in business.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Evade the tax, would be the only thing I could think of. But who consumes that much brandy?

[jdege]

Who can make brandy, cheap enough to undercut the commercial prices, in the quantities they can find illegal buyers for?

I expect they're selling product they've bought in low-tax areas and smuggled, or product they've stolen.

Irregardless:

Look at this bastard's history:

• 1996 - violated his probation. For what?
• 1997 - involved in the murder of a 14-year-old boy, convicted of assault, sentenced to only three years.
• 1999 - out on the street (whatever happened to that three years)
• 2000 - back in jail for felon in possession of a firearm. Sentenced to six years
• 2003 - back on the street (remember the six years?) and just weeks later shoots a cab driver.

Of course, if we would just crack down on those evil gun dealers, this sort of thing wouldn't happen.

[monday]

why did he shoot the cabby?

[mugsy]

People bother to do this anymore? You can't buy the stuff legal within a reasonable distance of the city?

One word: taxes. You can make two gallons of all-grain whiskey for about $15, age it for a year on oak chips, and enjoy a drink that's more complex and flavorful than many average whiskeys that cost $15 per 750ml bottle (that's $150 for two gallons). Rotgut won't sell underground because rotgut can be purchased cheaply in the grocery stores, but well-made liquor will sell underground, especially in places like black ghettos. How do I know all of this? Don't ask.

PS -- Expect to see more of this as socialism continues to erode our prosperity.

[jdege]

Because he was an evil bastard who had no business walking the streets.

A witness told police that a Red & White cab took Pacheco and two men to the bootlegger, where they bought a bottle of E&J Brandy, the document said. A bootlegger house is a place where liquor can be bought illegally any time of the day or night, said Lt. Mike Carlson, head of the homicide unit.

A surveillance tape from the gas station where Pacheco and the men stopped showed Pacheco getting in the cab directly behind Salah, the document said. The witnesses independently corroborated aspects of the case, Carlson said.

"On what we know, Salah did absolutely nothing to precipitate what happened," he said.

[mugsy]

Follow up to post #7 --

Apparently, the bootleggers were selling name-brand stuff. The same analysis holds, however. The issue is still the taxes on liquor.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Also they bought brandy. Brandy isn't a liquor, it's a fortified wine.

[mugsy]

Also they bought brandy. Brandy isn't a liquor, it's a fortified wine.

No, a fortified wine is a wine that has alcohol added to it, but a brandy is a distilled wine. Therefore, it is technically a liquor.