Two men arrested in Ohio in attack of Pittsburgh cab driver who died
Two men accused of being part of a group that killed of a cab driver in Pittsburgh's Beltzhoover neighborhood last week were arrested Sunday in Youngstown, Ohio, according to police.
Youngstown police arrested Christen Glenn, 18, and Daniel Russell, 19, after a traffic stop, according to police.
Ramadhan Mohamed, a zTrip driver, responded to a fare on Climax Street about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to police. Glenn, Russell, and two other men beat and robbed, Mohamed, 31, of the North Side. He was found later that morning and died at UPMC Presbyterian Friday evening.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office listed Mohamed's cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head. His death has been ruled a homicide.
King Edwards and Hosea Moore, both 20 and of Beltzhoover, were arrested Friday afternoon shortly before Mohamed was pronounced dead. Glenn and Russell remained on the run until their arrest Sunday in Youngstown.
According to the criminal complaint, the four men and another unnamed witness were at Edwards' home on Curtain Street when the four named men decided they wanted to rob a pizza delivery driver. Because it was late and the pizza shop was closed, they opted for a cab driver.
The witness told police Russell used a cellphone app to request the zTrip cab, and Mohamed arrived a short time later, according to the complaint.
When the cab arrived, Glenn, Russell, Edwards and Moore left for five to seven minutes and returned, with Russell bragging about beating Mohamed, according to the complaint. They left again to move Mohamed's cab and “make sure the victim was dead.”
All four men are charged with robbery, attempted homicide and conspiracy. Charges have not been upgraded since Mohamed's death Friday.
A statement released Friday by family members of Mohamed, who was Somalian, urged police to continue looking into the possibility the crime was hate-driven: “We urge the police to keep the pressure on until all of the facts are in. We need to know what really happened that night that left our brother beaten to death. We must not rule out the possibility of a hate crime until a full investigation is completed.”
Members of the transportation and Islamic community mourned Mohamed's death.
“Our entire Pittsburgh Transportation Group family extends its deepest sympathy to the family, friends and fellow zTrip drivers on the tragic death of our driver — Ramadhan Mohamed,” Pittsburgh Transportation Group President Jamie Campolongo said in a statement.
zTrip drivers will be collecting donations for Mohamed's family, and the company will match the amount collected, Campolongo said.
The Islamic Center statement expressed mourning over Mohamed's death.
“He was just 31 years old and leaves behind his wife, Khadija Mohamed, with a baby on the way, and a 2-year-old son. Ramadhan was kind and easygoing. Dedicated to his faith and to service, he volunteered every weekend teaching youth.”
WPXI contributed. Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519 or mguza@tribweb.com.
