Jury Deliberations Underway In Cab Driver Murder

INDIO (CNS) – A La Quinta man shot a cabbie twice in the head for $80 during a robbery in Indio, a prosecutor said today, but a defense attorney argued that another man charged in the case fired the fatal shots.

Christopher Guy Jasso, 37, is charged with first-degree murder for the slaying of 30-year-old Carlos Rafael Cuellar Cardona on Sept. 7, 2003. He could face the death penalty.

Also charged with murder — and facing a possible death sentence — is accused accomplice Fabian Perez, 26, who is being tried separately.

Deputy District Attorney Peter Nolan told the seven-woman, five-man jury during closing arguments that Cardona was working as a cabbie and dispatcher for Indio Yellow Cab.

“He was a worker. He had a job at Macy’s. He wanted a better job. He thought being a taxi cab driver was the way to get there,” Nolan said.

He argued that Jasso and Perez planned to rob the cabbie because they were “hard up for money.”

Cardona was meeting with friends at a cafe on Industrial Place in Indio when he received a call around 11:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2003, to pick up a customer.

The prosecutor showed jurors a surveillance video in which Jasso is seen at a Circle K store on Jackson Street picking up a pack of matches and then getting back into a yellow minivan cab at 12:15 a.m.

Nolan pointed to testimony from another cabbie, Rene Corrales, who said he received a call from Cardona at 12:08 a.m. Cardona told Corrales to call him back after he finished dropping off a customer, according to the prosecutor. Nolan said Corrales testified that when he called the victim back at 12:20 a.m., Cardona did not answer.

The prosecutor argued that Jasso shot Cardona twice in the head — once in the cab and then again in the street — showing the murder was premeditated and intentional. Nolan said one shell casing was found in the van and another was found in the street. Two more shell casings, which closely matched the casings found at the scene, were found at Jasso’s home.

Jasso’s fingerprints were also found in the van on a newspaper that was dated Sept. 6, Nolan said.

The prosecutor pointed to testimony from a witness, Jack Duke, who said that he saw Jasso being given a shiny object on the day of the murder, as evidence that the defendant had a gun in his possession.

He said the gun’s owner, Manuel Rivera, told police he was in Arizona when Jasso committed the murder and robbed the cabbie of his wallet. Rivera also said Perez discarded the weapon in the Salton Sea, according to the prosecutor.

Nolan said Cardona’s wallet, which had $80, was discarded.

“Carlos Cardona deserved better. He did not deserve to die for 80 bucks,” the prosecutor said.

Deputy Public Defender Eric Keen said the evidence supports that “either Jasso or Fabian Perez is the shooter,” and that jurors must find Jasso not guilty if another version of the events is plausible.

Keen offered a different theory on what happened, arguing that Perez demanded cash from Cardona while the cabbie was driving near Aztec Street.

The attorney told the jurors that when the cabbie tried to jump out of the moving van to flee from Perez, he was shot in the head twice. Keen pointed to testimony from the coroner that Cardona was shot once at close range and again from farther away.

The attorney said that outside of Rivera’s testimony, there was no evidence Jasso committed a robbery. He added that because Perez did not testify, the prosecution must present independent evidence to show a robbery occurred.

“There is not any supporting evidence to corroborate Fabian Perez’s statements,” Keen argued.

He said the prosecution’s claim that Cardona was killed during a robbery was false. Keen pointed to surveillance video that shows Jasso purchasing $10 of gas and two sodas at a Circle K on Monroe Street around 9:30 p.m. that night.

“Who testified Mr. Jasso needed money?” Keen said.

The attorney also urged the panel to question Rivera and Perez’s statements because of their criminal backgrounds. “The people want you to believe Mr. Jasso is the shooter because Manuel Rivera says so,” Keen said. He read excerpts from a transcript of Rivera’s interview with police and pointed out discrepancies in his story. The attorney argued that it’s likely Perez discarded the gun in the Salton Sea because he was the shooter, and not Jasso.

“Why does Fabian have that gun? Because Fabian is the shooter,” Keen said.

Jasso is being held without bail at the Indio Jail.