| Man held in shooting death of Drifters singer 04/13/2001 By Connie Piloto / The Dallas Morning News Dallas police have charged a 19-year-old Garland man with capital murder in the shooting death of a member of the singing group The Drifters almost a year ago, police said Thursday.
Robert Warren, 57, was shot and killed in South Dallas on April 29, hours after he had performed at Six Flags Over Texas.
Investigators said Mr. Warren was about to get into his rental car when Raynaldo Morris and another man approached and tried to steal the vehicle, which was parked in the 2700 block of Lawrence Street near Hatcher Street and Oakland Avenue. Mr. Warren may have been trying to find a nearby nightclub, police said.
The singer was shot as he tried to drive away, said Lt. David Elliston, head of the homicide unit. Mr. Warren's car rolled about 80 yards and struck a utility pole, and he died at the scene.
"He was targeted as a robbery victim," Lt. Elliston said. "It appears that it was his car that they were after."
Mr. Morris, who was 18 at the time of the killing, was charged with capital murder late Wednesday and is being held at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in lieu of $1 million bail.
Investigators said Mr. Morris became a suspect shortly after the shooting and was interviewed, but detectives did not have enough evidence to file charges.
Last week, homicide Detective Richard Berry re-interviewed a witness who led him to Mr. Morris.
The other man in the attack has not been identified, police said.
Mr. Warren, a resident of San Jose, Calif., joined The Drifters in 1970 and also worked as a referee for college and high school basketball, his family said.
He was dubbed "the Singing Referee" because he would perform the national anthem before officiating games.
His wife of 13 years, Maggie Warren, said she kept tabs on the investigation and had been considering offering a reward for information in the case.
"I'm glad that someone was caught," Ms. Warren said. "It makes me feel a little better ... knowing that this person won't do this to someone else. They took a good person."
Formed in 1953 in New York, the R&B group gained recognition for such songs as the 1959 hit "There Goes My Baby." Other top 10 hits included "Save the Last Dance for Me" in 1960 and "Under the Boardwalk" in 1964. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
None of the group's current members were original members of the group.
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