A Clayton County man has been arrested on charges related to the killing of a taxi driver in downtown Atlanta last week, police announced Tuesday.
Elibra Allen, 48, was identified thanks to items left behind in the taxi, which was found abandoned in a downtown parking lot Feb. 18, Atlanta police Homicide Unit Commander Lt. Ralph Woolfolk said. Allen is facing charges of felony murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to Woolfolk. He will be booked into the Fulton County Jail.
Allen’s charges stem from the Feb. 15 shooting death of 72-year-old Frederick Emereje outside of an apartment complex near the intersection of Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Hunnicutt Street, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Emereje was found suffering from a gunshot wound around 4:45 a.m. and taken to the hospital, where he died.
Police believe Emereje was dropping off a passenger who then shot him and fled in his taxi, the AJC reported.
On Friday, three days after the shooting, the white Toyota van that Emereje drove was found abandoned in a parking lot not far from the scene of the crime. The cab was impounded and combed over for evidence, Woolfolk said, which helped investigators identify Allen as a suspect and secure a warrant for his arrest.
Woolfolk specifically thanked the public for helping with the police investigation. Less than 24 hours after investigators released photos of the taxi, a tip led police to the vehicle.
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