Cabbie's Body Found Near Azalea Middle School

ST. PETERSBURG - Police said the body of a woman found Saturday morning outside Azalea Middle School is a Yellow Cab driver who was the victim of a homicide.

St. Petersburg police said a neighbor found the woman, who is white and appears to be in her late 30s, along a service road on the west side of the school at 7855 22nd Ave. N. Her name was being withheld until authorities could notify her relatives.

She is the third cab driver in two days to be a victim of a crime, though police aren't ruling the incidents as related.

"There's nothing in the preliminary investigation that suggests there is a connection between this homicide and the other cab robberies," police spokesman Bill Proffitt said late Saturday.

Police were notified about the body at 7:49 a.m. The woman's abandoned cab turned up later in South Pasadena.

A police report said the woman's body showed signs of "homicidal violence." Police said the victim picked up a cab fare sometime after 5 a.m.

Early Thursday, two St. Petersburg cab drivers were victims of attempted holdups. A Bats Taxi Co. driver said a gun was put to his head during a call to 1826 18th St. N. at 3:50 a.m.

The driver told police a man approached his window with a gun and demanded money. The driver managed to escape in his cab without being shot.

The other driver, who works at Independent Taxi Service, responded to a call at 2:50 a.m. at 2535 Union St., where a young man approached the passenger-side window and pulled a gun. The driver was shot once in the collarbone as he hit the accelerator and drove away.

The driver was taken to Bayfront Medical Center, where he remained Saturday, said coworker Mark Hood, a dispatcher. "He's doing all right."

The Tribune is not releasing names of the cab drivers because no arrests have been made.

Hood said holdups are common in the business, and they tend to happen in spurts.

The economy is bad and people are broke, reasoned Hood.

Drivers look out for each other and stay in contact by radio, but still they're worried.

"Most people are a little nervous," Hood said. "They don't want to work in some areas."

Anyone with information on the homicide can call the police homicide division at (727) 893-7164 or communications center at (727) 893-7780. Anonymous callers can use the department's Tip Line at (727) 892-5000.