Girl, 13, becomes fourth suspect arrested in connection with fatal beating of Queens cabbie
A 13-year-old girl has become the fourth suspect arrested in connection with the fatal beating of a Queens cabbie, police said Wednesday.
The teen was nabbed Tuesday and charged with gang assault and theft of service for her alleged role in the Aug. 13 Rockaways confrontation in which yellow cabbie Kutin Gyimah was killed. Her name was not released because she is a minor.
Another teen girl is still being sought.
At first, police said the incident began with an attempted robbery. But police said Thursday that the incident began when the group refused to pay their fare.
After refusing to pay their $70 fare, the five young passengers jumped out of Gyimah’s taxi on Beach 54th St. and Arverne Blvd. in Edgemere and ran off in different directions, according to court documents.
The cabbie gave chase, and had caught up with one of the girls who had ridden in his cab when suspects Austin Amos and Nickolas Porter, both 20, and two other girls ran back and pounced on Gyimah.
The victim, who was married and had four children — the youngest just 3 years old — was seen on video being assaulted by the youngsters, with Amos allegedly punching the older man in the face until he fell to the ground.
Porter and the three girls repeatedly kicked Gyimah while he was down. When the cabbie stood up again, Amos punched him in the face two more times, causing Gyimah to fall back and strike his head on the sidewalk, court documents allege.
Cops charged Amos with manslaughter, gang assault and theft of service.
Amos, accompanied by his mother, turned himself in to face charges after cops released his name and photo and asked for the public’s help finding him.
Porter and a girl, 16, were also been arrested and charged with gang assault and theft of service.
“An entire family is now grieving the tragic and senseless loss of their loved one because of this abhorrent behavior,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement after Amos and Porter were arraigned.
Both Amos and Porter were ordered held without bail. They’re due back in court on Sept. 8.
Amos has six prior arrests, including for robbery, criminal mischief, criminal contempt and sexual misconduct, police said. Porter was sentenced to three years’ probation on July 25 following a petty larceny guilty plea in Nassau County, court records show.
Gyimah’s widow, Abigail Gyimah said her husband would “want justice to be served.”
“My husband was a good man. He was everything we had. He was my children’s hero,” the grieving widow said.
“I look up to God, but besides God he was the only one I looked up to.”
