TACOMA, Wash. — A man has been arrested in connection with the killing of a cab driver in Tacoma on Thursday.
An officer spotted a man who looked like the suspect walking in the 5800 block of South Birmingham Street in Tacoma early Friday and took him into custody.
The 19-year-old suspect was booked into the Pierce County Jail on possible murder and robbery charges at 4 a.m.
Robert Crall, 54, was found dead outside his cab in the 5800 block of South Montgomery Street after several people called 911 to report hearing gunshots.
By the time officers arrived at 5 a.m., Crall was dead and the shooter had fled.
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Police released a suspect photo Thursday night.
Crall pulled up on South Montgomery Street near South 59th Street with a fare after 5 a.m. Thursday. Surveillance video of the area obtained by KIRO 7 appears to show some sort of struggle before the suspect shoots Crall and runs off.
Tammy Crall says she was together with Robert Crall for over 30 years. “We've been together for a long time, we got two beautiful babies out of it. I love them very much and he loved them very much too...and he's going to be very missed… very, very missed he was my best friend.” Tammy’s voice cracked several times in trying to speak about Robert.
Tammy Crall and her son, David Crall, met KIRO 7 at one of their homes in Tacoma.
Overcome with emotion at their loss, both the mother and son made their plea to the public to help find the shooter.
"He was robbed and shot and killed ... doing his job. That's what happened as far as we know.”
David said that his father was dedicated to his work and always willing to offer help, especially to the fares in his cab. “He never missed a day. He's be on it all the time
The police believe the suspect in Robert Crall’s murder has been involved in other violent crimes in the area around South Montgomery St and S 59th St. Tacoma police were able to get an image of the suspect off surveillance footage that appears to be from inside Robert Crall’s cab.
Surveillance video from near the shooting scene also shows the suspect running by a garage. He would have had to scale and run over a hill at the end of S 59th St to get away.
The Crall family says the suspect killed a dedicated cabbie and a beloved family member. Tammy Crall said she would miss his smile, but would miss more his dedication to taking her out to do practically anything, as long as it was fun for the both of them.
“Let's go to feed the birds, was my favorite thing to do. Going to the casino games and watching the Seahawks. I'm going to miss that I'm going to miss a whole lot about him.”
Circumstances around the shooting were not immediately known.
Cox Media Group
