Man sentenced for role in 2017 immigrant cab driver slaying

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 19 to 38 years in prison for his role in the beating death of an immigrant Somali cab driver in Pittsburgh more than five years ago.

King Edwards, 25, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Allegheny County Court to third-degree murder, robbery, and conspiracy in the February 2017 death of Ramadhan Mohamed, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Prosecutors alleged that he and two other men wanted to rob a pizza delivery driver on that night but due to the late hour opted for a cab driver. Authorities say the men punched, kicked and beat 31-year-old Ramadhan Mohamed, who died three days later at a hospital.

“They continued to kick and punch him while he was lifeless,” Deputy District Attorney Ilan Zur said during a 2019 hearing, the Post-Gazette reported. “He got beaten so severely that his brain actually shifted in his skull.”

At the time of his death, Mohamed had a 2-year-old son and his wife was pregnant. A member of the Somali Bantu community, he was known for wearing his religious garb, but police and prosecutors said there was no evidence that the suspects were motivated by his nationality, race or religion.

Edwards and a co-defendant, Hosea Moore, reached plea agreements with prosecutors and agreed to testify against another co-defendant, Daniel Russell. In November 2019, a jury convicted Russell of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison without possibility of parole..