Brandon Jacobs (Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office)
A 29-year-old man in Louisiana is behind bars after allegedly stabbing his Uber driver to death and telling investigators that he just “wanted to kill someone.”
Brandon Jamal Jacobs was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of second-degree murder in the slaying of 54-year-old police department employee Yolanda Dillion, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JCSO), deputies at approximately 3 p.m. on Dec. 8 responded to a 911 emergency call regarding a possible stabbing in the parking lot of a Travelodge hotel located in the 2200 block of the Westbank Expressway. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located an adult female — later identified as Dillion — inside of her vehicle. She appeared to be suffering from several stab wounds, deputies said.
Dillion was rushed to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
Investigators say they were quickly able to determine that Dillion, a fiscal budget analyst for the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) who moonlighted as an Uber driver, had picked up Jacobs somewhere in New Orleans and brought him to the hotel. When they arrived at the hotel, police say Jacobs “stabbed her repeatedly before leaving the vehicle.”
Authorities apprehended Jacobs at the hotel where Dillion dropped him off. Following his arrest, investigators interviewed Jacobs, who allegedly confessed to intentionally stabbing Dillion, whom he allegedly selected at random.
“He admitted to stabbing the victim at the end of the ride,” the release states. “He told detectives that he selected the victim at random because he wanted to kill someone.”
In a Friday afternoon press conference, Jeff Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto and outgoing NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson provided additional details on the case, saying Jacobs readily provided investigators with a full confession about stabbing Dillion.
“His confession basically stated that he woke up yesterday morning and decided he was going to kill someone and decided that was going to be his day,” Lopinto said. “He was in the back seat. Stabbed her from behind. Exited the vehicle and just walked away casually.”
According to Lopinto, Jacobs initially ordered an Uber from the hotel to a second location with the intention of killing the driver. However, after realizing that he would need a ride back to his hotel, he ordered a car to take him back. Dillion was the driver who accepted the second ride request.
“He stated that he woke up yesterday morning and decided he was going to kill someone,” Lopinto continued. “We asked him specifically, ‘how did you pick her? His response was ‘I didn’t pick her, Uber picked her’ — meaning she was the random person that picked him up that day.”
The sheriff said that Jacobs used his cell phone to record Dillion’s murder and posted the video to Facebook. Authorities then worked with the social media company to have the video taken down.
Ferguson told reporters that Dillion was a 10-year veteran of the department who was loved by all.
Yolanda Dillion
According to a report from New Orleans CBS affiliate WWL-TV, Dillion worked for the NOPD during the day and attended classes at night to obtain her PhD in sociology; she had been working as an Uber driver to make extra money to buy presents for her family and children at her church.
Dillion, a breast cancer survivor, was also reportedly the sole caregiver for her mother, Edna, who is in her 80s.
“She took very good care. She made my groceries and cooked and bought everything. She paid all my bills and everything. He just left me with nobody,” Edna reportedly told the station.
Watch the press conference below:
[Image via Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office]