NEW FRANKLIN: Police say an apparently drug-crazed passenger opened fire on a longtime cab driver, killing the Canton man with multiple gunshots. Raul Benitez Maranon, 27, was being held on aggravated murder charges at the Summit County Jail. Bond was set at $500,000 after a court appearance Monday in Barberton Municipal Court.He is accused of killing 61-year-old taxi driver Jerry Laury at the end of a drive Sunday afternoon from the Belden Village area in Stark County to South Main Street in New Franklin.Robbery is not suspected as a motive. Police Chief Dan Davidson said Laury’s money was not missing. Instead, police are investigating drug use as a potential cause of what Davidson described as extremely irrational behavior by the alleged gunman.Police recovered a plastic sandwich bag containing a powdery white substance from Maranon’s clothing. The substance was not cocaine, Davidson said, and further tests are being conducted. Maranon is accused of making offensive gestures to the female officer who stopped him. He kicked and licked the windows inside her cruiser, Davidson said.Police also recovered a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol they believe was used in the slaying.“The way this guy was acting, he was on something,” Davidson said.Maranon was arrested minutes after the shooting by police officer Monica Harvey as he was trying to get inside a 2007 Ford Focus parked in a garage near his home on South Main Street.Harvey was guided to the scene by a female neighbor who called 911 about 5:45 p.m. Sunday when she heard gunfire. The woman told police she saw a man walk away from Laury’s cab after firing a pistol.“I just heard some guy shooting somebody and there’s a Yellow Cab taxi cab behind the house,” the caller told dispatcher Konnie Mc-Kain, who radioed the information to Harvey. Her cruiser was on the scene within three minutes.“He punched in the window and was screaming,” the caller continued. “I heard gunshots from a pistol and that’s why I looked out. I saw a guy standing there shooting.” Police recovered more than eight spent bullet casings, according to reports.“It’s a tragedy,” Davidson said. “Here was a guy who was just trying to make a living being gunned down like this. It’s a shame.”Laury’s family was not available for comment.Donald Hicks, an Akron attorney appointed to represent Maranon, declined comment. He planned to meet with Maranon at the county jail Monday night.At the Yellow Cab Co. office in Canton, fellow worker Ivory Smith said the mood Monday was solemn. Smith said Laury was a popular driver for more than 30 years and had at least four children. In his spare time, he enjoyed fishing and hunting.Smith, who talked to Laury via radio as he picked up Maranon outside a Dressler Road restaurant, said Laury enjoyed his passengers and was never involved in any serious confrontations or robberies.He’d routinely work 12-hour shifts to provide for his family.“He was a really nice guy,” Smith said. “He was one of those guys, that if you didn’t have any money, he’d tell you to just go. That’s the kind of guy he was. He loved his job.’’Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.