After Shootout, Cops ID Man Charged In New Rochelle Cabbie Death

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A man accused of killing a New Rochelle taxi driver, who was arrested after a shootout Sunday in Brooklyn, was identified by police as Percell Lamont Ross of Virginia.

Valenzuela was pronounced dead shortly after officers on patrol found the wounded New Rochelle man in a parking lot on Main Street in the city just before 3 a.m. Oct. 14. Valenzuela was finishing his shift as a taxi driver and was parking his cab when he was shot, police said.

Seeking a suspect, New Rochelle police, in collaboration with the FBI, the federal SafeStreets Task Force and the Westchester County Police Real Time Crime Center, were conducting surveillance Suday on an apartment complex in Brooklyn.

New Rochelle police detectives located the man in the courtyard of the complex at 10:30 a.m., Capt. J. Collins Coyne said. When they identified themselves and ordered him to stop, the man began shooting at the police and attempted to run away. He continued to shoot at police in various directions as they converged on him. Several officers returned fire. The suspect surrendered when he ran out of ammunition. No one was injured in the gunfire, police said.

The man was taken into custody by New Rochelle detectives and then turned over to the FBI. He is facing federal charges in addition to a homicide charge for killing Andres Valenzuela in New Rochelle.

The gun used Sunday to shoot at the police was a .22 caliber revolver and is believed to be the same weapon used in the cab driver shooting, Coyne said. It was taken into evidence and a ballistics check is forthcoming.

Ross, 52, of Covington, Virginia, is to be charged with homicide as well as multiple other charges stemming from today’s incident. Ross is a fugitive wanted in two states: in Connecticut for attempted murder and in Virginia for sex trafficking, police said

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