INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man and woman will both be serving decades behind bars after murdering a cab driver who had fled to America to escape violence.
Abdukadir Filanwaa, 55, was an immigrant who fled from violence in Somalia in the 1990s and had been living in Indianapolis ever since. Filanwaa provided for his family by becoming a cab driver; his murder devastating his friends, family and the Indianapolis Muslim community.
“He was always a guy that made you laugh. He was quiet and respectful,” said zTrip general manager Bobbie Liebrandt, who Filanwaa worked for.
“He was here for 25 years working his tail end off, and for whatever reason they murdered him,” said Liebrandt.
According to court records, 31-year-old James Riley and 30-year-old Alysianna Martin got off a Greyhound bus and into Filanwaa’s cab on Sept. 10, 2022. The pair reportedly began arguing over the cost of cab fare and then drew a gun on Filanwaa, forcing him at gunpoint to drive them.
Filanwaa ended up being found shot to death inside his taxi at 4 a.m. near 11th Street and New Jersey Avenue.
Riley ultimately admitted to shooting Filanwaa, calling it a “misunderstanding.”
“A lot of drivers are angry because they know this was a good guy, and there’s no reason for him to be murdered,” said Liebrandt.
Riley ended up pleading guilty to one count of murder and one count of kidnapping. He was sentenced to 62 years in prison.
Martin followed suit, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Court records show the pair have a lengthy criminal history, with a combined 19 felony charges in Marion County over the last decade. Most of the charges stemmed from drug and theft cases. The most recent involved a woman being assaulted downtown in June.
Now the pair will spend their next several decades behind bars, though their actions continue to reverberate in the Indianapolis Muslim community and the taxi drivers within it.
“Many people are taxi drivers,” said Imam Ahmed Alamine with the Indianapolis Muslim Community Association. “[Some are wondering] is it going to be my last day when I leave home just like what happened to Abdukadir?”
