20-year-old held in bus driver's death

NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A 20-year-old man has been charged in the stabbing death of a New York City bus driver, police said Tuesday.

The suspect, Horace D. Moore of Brooklyn, is alleged to have fatally stabbed the driver, Edwin Thomas, 46, after an argument Monday that began with over his failure to pay for his ride, The New York Times reported.

While police had said Monday Moore allegedly had swiped an invalid pass card when he got on the bus and then attacked Thomas when he refused to give him a free transfer pass, authorities said Tuesday the incident actually played out differently.

Moore, they said, sneaked in the rear door of the bus and sat down without paying. He then allegedly asked Thomas for a transfer and was given one but they argued, police said.

Moore got off the bus and the driver followed him and they argued some more, police said. When Thomas got back on the bus, Moore allegedly pushed his way through the doors, stabbed him and fled on foot, police now allege.

Moore was arrested at his girlfriend's home Monday night, police said. The knife used in the stabbing had not been found.

"He made statements putting himself at the scene on the bus and using a knife as a weapon to kill the driver," police spokesman Paul J. Browne said.

Browne said Moore had previous arrests for weapons possession and assault.