Prosecutors in northeastern Pennsylvania say they cannot seek the death penalty in the case of a teenager accused of having killed a cab driver who didn't take his preferred route.
District Attorney Andy Jarbola told The (Scranton) Times-Tribune that the age of 16-year-old defendant Aazis Richardson bars capital punishment despite the alleged circumstances of the case.
Jarbola said, however, that he believed that "if a case deserved a potential death penalty consideration, this is it."
Richardson is being held without bail in the murder of 47-year-old Vincent Darbenzio, whose body was found in his cab early Friday near the entrance to a Scranton housing complex.
Richardson told police he became angry and shot Darbenzio after telling him to pull over, according to the complaint.
While in police custody, Richardson told reporters he had killed the driver because he wouldn't take his preferred route. Asked if being ripped off was reason to kill someone, Richardson replied, "To me, it is."
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WNEP-TV reported that when Richardson was arraigned Friday night, he told reporters "That's what I do to people who don't listen."
