Following a brutal assault in Norwood on a cab driver in March 2022, and a subsequent rally and offer of a reward to catch his assailants, on Aug. 13, another Bronx-based cab driver from Co-Op City, who was working in Queens, was beaten to death under similar circumstances.

 

On Thursday, March 17, at 3560 Webster Avenue in Norwood, the NYPD told the Norwood News that a 61-year-old cab driver, later identified as Carlos Infante, was punched in the face, having tried to intervene during a dispute. No further information was provided by police regarding the incident at the time.

 

The New York Post reported that livery driver, Infante, had gone to pick up a couple at the referenced location just before 6 a.m. on March 17, and that the couple were arguing when he arrived.

 

Photos of the victim, seemingly recuperating in hospital after the assault, show him with a badly bruised, black eye and other apparent injuries.

 

Fernando Mateo of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers was quoted in the Post story as saying that Infante had been robbed of $600 during the course of the assault, but police could not officially confirm the robbery. Norwood News has attempted to reach Mateo for comment to corroborate this account of the incident.

 

According to 1010Wins, a rally was held outside Bronx Lebanon Hospital on March 20, organized by the taxi driver federation, during which a $3,000 reward was reportedly offered for the arrest of the assailants in the case.

HAPPENING NOW : New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers offering $3,000 #reward for arrest of couple who assaulted and robbed a #cab driver in the Bronx. @1010WINS pic.twitter.com/My9IpvD4LD

— Eileen Lehpamer (@ELehpamer12) March 20, 2022

Norwood News previously reported on a slashing assault on another taxi driver in the Jerome Park neighborhood outside Tracey Towers in August 2020. A GoFundMe page was set-up at the time to raise funds for the driver’s required surgery, such were the extent of his injuries. A video of the suspect was later released, as reported.

 

Earlier this year, on Jan. 28, we reported how another cab driver in Westchester Square was caught in cross fire during a shooting, and was hit in the leg while at the same time a car collided with a second vehicle.

 

Another cab driver was stabbed, stiffed and robbed in the Fordham Heights neighborhood on Jan. 20, this year. At 9.28 p.m., in the vicinity of 3222 Bronx Boulevard in Olinville, a 34-year-old male livery driver picked up three passengers who asked to be transported to another location. A short time later, when the cab arrived at the vicinity of 184th Street and Creston Avenue in Fordham Heights, the three passengers, two men and one woman exited the cab without paying the fare and fled on foot.

 

The cab driver exited his vehicle and was able to apprehend the woman, but one of the two men turned back and allegedly stabbed the victim in the chest several times with a knife. The three suspects then fled on foot in an unknown direction. An undetermined amount of money was allegedly taken from the victim after the assault. EMS responded, and transported the driver to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition.

 

On Saturday, Aug. 13, in response to a follow-up inquiry by Norwood News, the NYPD said that Deshaun Grier, 22, of Webster Avenue in the Norwood section of The Bronx had been arrested on May 11, 2022, and was charged with two counts of assault in relation to the March 17 Webster Avenue assault on Infante.

Watch as @NYCMayor joins @NYPDPC and to discuss the launch of Neighborhood Safety Teams across NYC. https://t.co/RsTcvaz1Fe

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 21, 2022

A 21-year-old Deshuan Grier of Webster Avenue in The Bronx had previously been arrested in January 2021 on charges of criminal possession of a weapon, following a shooting incident on Jan. 11, 2021. The shooting took place at the same Webster Avenue location as where the assault on Infante later occurred. During the January 2021 shooting, Kahlik Grier, 16, of Webster Avenue was fatally shot and died.

 

Meanwhile, on the same day, Aug. 13, the taxi federation issued a new press advisory following news that another cab driver had been beaten and murdered earlier that day, Aug 13, in Queens, over a dispute with the payment of a cab fare. They said a reward of $15,000 was being offered for information on the person(s) responsible for the incident.

 

The group planned a protest on Sunday Aug. 14, at 10 a.m. in front of Big Apple Taxi fleet, 54-11 Queens Blvd, Queens NY 11377. They wrote, “At approximately 7 a.m. Saturday morning, Gyimah Kutin picked up a group of young men who hailed his yellow cab. When they reached the destination, Beach 54th St and Arverne Boulevard in Far Rockaway, the thugs ran without paying Mr. Gyimah. Mr Gyimah chased them and that’s when they beat him to death. Mr. Gyimah leaves behind a wife and four children [of] 8,7,5 [and] 3 years old.”

 

Once again, Mateo decried the violence perpetrated against cab drivers, saying, “Today is a very sad day for our industry, our City [and] the wife and family of Kutin Gyimah. These murderers must be caught and we are offering a $15,000 reward for the capture and conviction of these murderers. All funeral expenses will be covered by the owners of Big Apple Taxi Fleet Management where Mr Gyimah worked.”

 

He added, “This is a poor hardworking man. How can you leave your home and NOT return? This is outrageous. We are angry, we are in disbelief, we want justice for Mr Gyimah. I spoke to Commissioner Sewell and she assured us that the NYPD will find those responsible.”

 

Mateo said details about the driver and his family were to be provided at the press conference, and that family members of Gyimah would attend. “We expect a sea of yellow cab drivers members of the NYSFTD to be present,” he added, in part. “Curb, Big Apple & the NYSFTD will cover the reward and Big Apple Taxi Fleet will cover all funeral costs.” A GoFundMe page was later created to help with the funeral costs for Gyimah. It can be accessed here.

 

On Aug. 29, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson later tweeted in respect of the Queens cab incident, “On behalf of The Bronx, we mourn the tragic loss of Co-op City resident, Gyimah Kutin. We visited his church this weekend to pay respects, honor his life, pray for his wife and children and celebrate his life. An act of violence took a father and husband from his family.”

 

We are so saddened that a hard working taxi driver was senselessly killed in our City leaving behind a family and community to mourn. We must do more to protect our taxi drivers and hold those responsible for his death accountable. This family deserves justice! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/dDpQ3L1b7c

— Hon. Vanessa L. Gibson, MPA (She, Her, Hers) (@Vanessalgibson) August 29, 2022

 

On the day after the March 20th rally held earlier this year, following the assault on Infante in Norwood, Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell were in The Bronx to discuss the launch of the Neighborhood Safety Teams across NYC.

 

On the same day, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) announced that they had secured $400,000 in federal funding in a bipartisan Omnibus Appropriations Agreement for Jacobi Hospital’s youth violence reduction program, ‘Stand Up to Violence.’ In June 2021, the politicians held a press conference at the hospital, urging Congress to provide $400,000 to the program.

 

As reported, community-based, violence intervention (CVI) programs are designed to stop the violence from ever occurring in the first place by supporting those at greatest risk of gun violence, according to the elected officials. Advocates of this type of intervention say youth who participate in the SUV program are 52 percent less likely to be injured in another violent trauma. Norwood News recently reported on the latest efforts of B.R.A.G., another cure violence program operating in certain designated neighborhoods in the 46th, 47th and 52nd precincts, to curb gun violence over the summer months.

 

The secured funding will be used to add a mental health services component to the Stand Up to Violence (SUV) program at Jacobi. Modeled after the Chicago-based, ‘Cure Violence’ initiative, SUV deploys outreach workers to respond to shootings and help prevent retaliation, and to assist family members of those who have been injured or killed. Additionally, they mentor youth in underserved communities by helping to create educational and job opportunities. The additional $400,000 will allow SUV to add an emergency room social worker, case worker, part-time psychiatrist, and a creative arts or music therapist.

 

Gibson later added in respect of Gyimah, “We are so saddened that a hard-working taxi driver was senselessly killed in our City, leaving behind a family and community to mourn. We must do more to protect our taxi drivers and hold those responsible for his death accountable. This family deserves justice!”

 

Meanwhile, anyone with information regarding either incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.