Participant in Drive-By Killing of Taxi Driver Pleads Guilty

by Mindy Cohn 

Hakeem Gentles, arrested in 2017 after taking part in a drive-by shooting in Hillcrest of taxi driver Rem Louis, pled guilty to a felony and was sentenced to one and a half to three years in state prison today.

Ramapo police arrested the Spring Valley resident after the taxi driver died of his injuries several days after being shot in the head. Gentles was the driver of the Toyota Camry that pulled up next to Louis's taxi. The shooter in Gentles's car shot Louis in the head, although he was targeting a passenger.

By pleading guilty to fourth-degree conspiracy, a felony, Gentles was only sentenced to one and a half to three years in state prison due to a deal negotiated with the DA's office.

"The homicide case was going to be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, mainly because the eyewitness was no longer cooperative with our office and actively made himself unavailable to testify. If the shooter is ever identified, we stand ready to proceed," Scott Waters, Rockland County District Attorney's Office Public Information Officer, tells Rockland Daily. 

Gentles was also to have served one year for violating probation after being convicted of third-degree robbery in 2016, together with another incident that took place in New Jersey in 2021. No additional time will be served by the career criminal as the sentences will be carried out concurrently.