Crime & Safety

Jury Selection Begins for Gang Member Accused of Killing Cab Driver in Lemon Grove

Demetrius Sissac, 21, is charged with murder in the Oct. 30, 2011 death of Jalaludin Hamrah, a 39-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan.

Jury selection is scheduled to get under way Wednesday in the trial of a gang member accused of fatally shooting a taxi driver at the end of a cab ride in Lemon Grove.

Demetrius Sissac, 21, is charged with murder in the Oct. 30, 2011 death of Jalaludin Hamrah, a 39-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan.

Sissac also is charged with a special circumstance allegation of killing a cab driver in the course of his duties. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

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A motive for the slaying was not clear, though prosecutors said the defendant was on probation for auto theft at the time of the killing.

The prosecution alleges that Hamrah gave a ride to Sissac in the early morning hours and at the end of the ride, Sissac shot and killed him.

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Hamrah was found dead in his cab, which crashed in the 3400 block of Main Street. Paramedics discovered a bullet wound in his upper body when they pulled him from the wreckage.

Sissac was arrested three days later.

—City News Service


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