Man found guilty of killing, burning cabdriver

A 19-year-old man accused of shooting a cabdriver in the head and then burning the man's body inside the cab was found guilty by a King County Superior Court jury today.

Earnest Lenell Collins, who was charged with aggravated murder and arson, now faces life in prison without the possibility of release. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 9.

Police said Collins called Farwest Taxi around 2:40 a.m. July 10 and requested a cab. Later that morning, a witness saw Jagjit Singh's taxi ablaze in front of Collins' SeaTac home and called 911.

When fire and police officials made it to the car, near South 177th Street and 38th Avenue South, they found Singh dead inside, according to court documents and testimony during the trial.

Investigators tracked Collins to Chicago and arrested him about two weeks later.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office found that Singh, 43, died from two gunshot wounds to the head and was dead before the fire was started. Police later found burned clothing soaked in bleach inside Collins' home.

Witnesses, some of whom testified during the two-week trial, identified Collins' voice on a recorded call to Farwest Taxi earlier that morning.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com