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Taxicab passenger shoots driver on Fair Oaks
By KELLY WILKINSON
A taxi passenger shot his driver in the back on March 14 as the cab passed through Sunnyvale on Fair Oaks Avenue, near Old San Francisco Road, according to the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department.
Driver Sandeep Singh picked up Antonio Moreno, 52, and his son Tony Moreno, 31, in Cupertino around 4 a.m. and was delivering them to their home in Santa Clara when Tony Moreno shot him, according to Chuck Eanuff, spokesperson for the Public Safety Department.
"It looks like an accidental discharge at this point," Eanuff said.
There was no money taken or any reported argument, but both Morenos were intoxicated, Eanuff said. "They had had too much to drink, and that's why they took a cab in the first place," he said.
The son shot Singh through the car seat, which Eanuff said lessened the severity of the wound.
"Luckily, much of the velocity of the bullet was taken out through the seat," Eanuff said.
After the gun went off, the Morenos told Singh, who was not seriously injured, to let them out at Old San Francisco Road.
The Public Safety Department was immediately notified. Police later received a call from an unnamed source who identified the father and son and said they may have been related to the shooting. Police picked up the father at his home in Santa Clara and the son as he walked to his father's house.
The two are in custody.
Singh removed the bullet himself, according to Eanuff. After the incident, he went to a local hospital, was treated and released.
Both Morenos were charged with kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a deadly weapon by a felon. Their previous criminal history was not released.
Eanuff said the kidnapping charge is "really layman's terms for a charge involving moving someone against their will. As soon as the gun went off and they told him to drive, it became kidnapping."
The case is still under investigation.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
