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Transient man pleads no contest in killing of AAA driver in Pico Rivera

A man pleaded no contest Dec. 6 in the fatal stabbing a AAA driver who was helping a customer, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. 

Tobias Ruben Cabrera pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in the killing of Raymond Anthony Zabala, 35. 

Prosecutors said that on June 2, 2015, Zabala drove to Pico Rivera to jump start a customer’s car. Cabrera, a transient and the estranged son of the AAA customer, walked up to Zabala and asked what was going on before stabbing him with a knife, prosecutors added. 

Zabala went to a neighboring home to call for help, but he died at the scene, according to prosecutors. 

After the attack, Cabrera got on a bike and fled. On June 5, Cabrera was found by L.A. County sheriff’s deputies. 

Cabrera is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 31; he faces at least 20 years in prison. 

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @jeromercampbell and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.

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