‎2 Men Plead Guilty In 2004 Murder Of Seattle Cabbie‎‎

Long sentences sought in shooting of Somalian

Seattle , Jan. 20, 2006 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) - Two young men could face more time behind bars than they've been alive for the January 2004 shooting of a Seattle taxi driver, a crime that spurred local cabbies to push for such security measures as cameras in their cars.

Days before their trial was set to begin, Brandin Thomas and Antaun Gates pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Hassan Farah, a weekend cabdriver who was dispatched to pick them up at a Rainier Valley McDonald's.

King County prosecutors will ask a judge to sentence Thomas, 20, who also pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, to roughly 35 years in prison. His sentencing hearing has not been set. They will seek almost 28 years behind bars for Gates, 24, in a sentencing hearing March 24.

Two other young men were charged with Farah's murder but were planning to testify against Thomas and Gates in Superior Court next week. Eric Abrahamson is expected to plead guilty to two counts of robbery and one attempted robbery charge.

Coriy Komotios, who prosecutors say does not appear to have helped his buddies kill Farah, is expected to plead guilty to stealing a car that same day.

Prosecutors say the young men planned to rob a taxi driver Jan. 31, 2004. One later told police they decided to do it because they were bored, Deputy Prosecutor Don Raz said.

They had apparently never met Farah, a Somali immigrant and married father of three who also worked as an aide to bilingual students at Seattle Public Schools.

"It could have been anybody," Raz said. "Whatever driver got sent, this was probably going to happen."

Who did what is in dispute, but prosecutors say Thomas called for the cab and allegedly told his friends: "I'm just going to smoke him."

At 4:30 a.m., Farah was found slumped over the wheel of his taxi. He'd been shot five times. Prosecutors say Thomas fired four times and Gates shot the man once.

The men apparently made off with just a few bucks. Farah had picked up only one fare on his early-morning shift, Raz said.

Defense attorney John Crowley said Thomas pleaded guilty this week because he "wanted to take responsibility" -- for the sake of both Farah's family and his own.

"There's a very good side to Brandin," he said. "He felt very bad about what he's done."

Last week, Gates entered a modified guilty plea, denying that he murdered Farah but acknowledging that a jury probably would convict him.

About a year after Farah's death, the City Council passed a measure that raised taxi fares and required security cameras to be installed in all cabs.

P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-467-5942 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com.

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