Man arrested in beating death of taxi driver in Hollywood, police say

HOLLYWOOD (CNS / FOX 11) - A man suspected of killing a taxi driver during a fight at a Hollywood gas station was in custody on Thursday.

Najib Halibi, 34, a resident of Los Angeles County, was arrested about 3:15 p.m Wednesday in the area of Avalon Boulevard and the San Diego (405) Freeway, according to Lt. Chris Ramirez of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.

Halibi was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held in lieu of $2 million, according to Ramirez and sheriff's online inmate records.

Police were dispatched at 3:06 a.m. Sunday to the gas station in the area of Franklin Avenue and North Beachwood Drive in response to an assault with a deadly weapon call, said Officer Scott Danielson of the LAPD's Hollywood Station.

The cab driver, identified in news reports as Afsawosen Alemseged, stopped at a gas station, where both he and his passenger got out of the vehicle, police said.

The taxi driver got into a fight with the passenger and was pushed to the ground, where he hit his head on the pavement, according to Danielson.

Paramedics rushed him to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries, the officer said.

Police had described the victim, whose name has not been released by authorities, as 45-50 years old.

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