By IANS
Chicago : A teenager was charged with the murder of a Sikh cab driver whose burnt body was found early this month in Seattle.
Earnest Lennell Collins Jr., 18, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder of Jagit Singh, 43. He was arrested Monday from Chicago.
Singh died after being shot twice in the head July 10. Singh was allegedly shot to death by Collins, who later torched the cab, according to court papers.
When fire fighters reached the spot, they found Singh dead in his cab.
Police tracked Collins to Chicago through mobile phone records. Several people identified Collins' voice on the taxi company's recorded line.
A friend of Collins told investigators that he talked about robbing a taxi driver as an easy way to make money, Seattle Times quoted court charges as saying.
Another friend said Collins had recently lost money in a dice game and talked about 'jacking someone' to earn the money back.
Singh's nephew, Kulwinder Singh, said detectives called him Tuesday with the news. "I was so happy that someone was arrested and charged," he said.
Cab drivers, accustomed to occasional assaults or robbery, were especially shaken by Collins' decision to torch the cab, Seattlepi.com said.
"Every driver is upset," said another driver Kashmir Sandhu as he waited for customers in his taxi. "I think he should be punished."