Deonta Nabors, 23, of Chicago

A 23-year-old Chicago man has been charged with the attempted murder of an Aurora taxi cab driver after allegedly shooting the driver during a foiled robbery attempt earlier this week.

Deonta Nabors was taken into custody on Jan. 10 and charged with single counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and attempted robbery, along with three counts each of attempted armed robbery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Bail was set at $2 million.

Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli said that Nabors also faces a misdemeanor charge of obstructing police after repeatedly lying about his identity on a traffic stop that led to his arrest.

The hunt for Nabors began around 12:11 a.m. on Jan. 10 after officers responded to the 400 block of Grant Street and located a 49-year-old man inside his taxi, suffering from a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

The driver told police that he had just picked up a man at a gas station on North Avenue and Broadway and taken the man to his requested destination on Grant Street, according to Ferrelli.

Once they arrived, the suspect allegedly demanded money from the cab driver and then shot the driver in the chest before fleeing the vehicle without any of the driver’s cash or valuables.

Sometime during the robbery attempt, the cab driver accelerated and crashed into a nearby parked and unoccupied SUV, Ferrelli said. He was not further injured as a result of the crash, police said. The driver was taken to an Aurora hospital by Aurora Fire Department Paramedics for treatment of his gunshot wound.

Shortly after the shooting, police released a gas station surveillance photograph of their suspect in hopes of tracking him down. In less than eight hours, police had the alleged shooter in custody, Ferrelli said.

Nabors was taken into custody around 7:39 p.m. on Jan. 10 when a vehicle he was a passenger in was pulled over by Aurora Police at Marion Avenue and Fifth Street because its registration was expired. The officer noticed that Nabors resembled the man who was wanted in the robbery and shooting so he asked him for his identification.

According to Ferrelli, it took three separate attempts before Nabors gave his real name. He was taken into custody on the robbery and attempted murder charges, and additionally charged with obstructing a peace officer.  The driver of the vehicle, a 32-year-old Joliet man, was given a verbal warning about the status of the vehicle registration.

Nabors is expected to be transferred to the Kane County Correctional Center in St. Charles Friday morning.

—  Suspect in custody in Aurora taxi driver shooting —