Prosecutors: Boston cabbie fatally shot after declining ride

BOSTON – A man who prosecutors say shot a taxi driver nine times in downtown Boston after the cabbie refused to drive him to a town about 30 miles (50 kilometers) away was ordered held without bail on Wednesday.

Phillip Foy, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and armed carjacking a day after the shooting in broad daylight near the city's busy Prudential Center.

The shooting stunned people in the area and caused several major roadways in the city to be closed for hours.

Assistant District Attorney John Verner said Foy demanded a ride to Mansfield, about a 30-mile (50-kilometer) drive from Boston. When driver Luckinson Oruma declined, Foy told him to move the cab or Foy was going to "move" him.

Oruma continued to refuse, and Foy got out of the cab, pulled Oruma, 60, from the front seat and shot him, Verner said. Foy, 34, then stood over Oruma's body and continued to shoot him, Verner said.

Authorities say Foy then drove the cab short distance before abandoning it and tossing the gun and his shoes. Foy was sitting at a table outside a grocery store when he was found by authorities and arrested.

Verner said Foy gave police "basically a full confession."

Attorney John Hayes, who was appointed to represent Foy, told reporters he had no comment because he had just been assigned to the case. Hayes did not object to prosecutors' request that Foy be held without bail.

Oruma was described by family members as a hardworking and dedicated father of five. His son, Jeffrey Oruma, told WCVB-TV, that he hopes the shooter "does his time for the crime he committed and hopefully he finds peace."

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Foy's first name to Phillip, not Philip.