FL) Cab driver had concealed weapons permit 03-18-05
Date: Mar 19, 2005 4:26 AM
First Coast News | Local News
Address:http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=34168

Home Video Shows Armed Robber Seconds After Being Shot By Cab Driver
By Lindy Thackston
First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL — A Citicab driver was dropping off two passengers
Thursday night at the Lighthouse Bay Apartments when he was approached
by an armed robber.
43-year-old George Robert Ramm has a license to carry a concealed weapon
in his taxi.

Ramm shot 20-year-old Tabarus Romell Evans in the chest. Evans died at
the scene.

“I heard the gunshot so I ran downstairs,” said Calvin Williams.

“I saw a man on the ground, and that’s when I ran upstairs to get my
camera.”

Williams’ showed his home video to First Coast News, but it’s too
graphic to replay.

The video shows Evans on the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Evans was gasping for air, but was unable to speak.

Police say Evans was hiding in the bushes, and approached Ramm when the
passengers were getting out of the car.

Evans’ footprints could still be seen Friday in the dirt around the
bushes.

The cab drivers’ co-workers say the decision to use a weapon comes down
to self-defense.

“I took the class and got a license to carry concealed,” said Kenneth
Lockley, a driver with Citicab.

“It’s all for my safety.”

Lockley has worked for Citicab for six months, and hasn’t used his
weapon yet.

“You have to know when to use it,” said Lockley. “You can’t be
trigger-happy.”

But Lockley said Ramm made the right choice, and he’s proud of him.

Lockley’s manager, Steven Winfrey, agrees, but hates someone had to die.

Winfrey doesn’t advise his drivers to carry concealed.

“It’s about the passengers’ and the drivers’ protection, but these are
not cops, these are taxi drivers,” said Winfrey.

The cabs are equipped with panic buttons and monitors.

The monitors record a snapshot of the interior of the cab each time a
door is opened.

The State Attorney is deciding if charges will be filed against Ramm,
but no charges are expected.

The JSO says its investigation so far shows Ramm acted in self-defense.