Puyallup Teen Accused Of Killing Cab Driver In Northern Idaho

SANDPOINT, ID - A 19-year-old man from Puyallup has been arrested in Idaho for allegedly stabbing a cab driver to death. Jacob Coleman was arrested Monday on suspicion of first-degree murder, according to the Bonner County Sheriff's Department. Coleman had traveled to Eastern Washington to attend Gonzaga University, police said, but the school denied Coleman was a student there.

According to Bonner County, Coleman flew from to Spokane on Monday to apparently begin a new semester at Gonzaga. When he reached the school, he contacted members of the Housing and Residence Life Office, who told him that he was not enrolled and had to leave.

"Gonzaga University has no record of an application for admission from Jacob Coleman of Puyallup, WA. An individual matching his description was reported to have approached housing officials on campus Monday. As Mr. Coleman was not enrolled as a student, he was never assigned to campus housing and was informed of this fact by the Housing and Residence Life Office," spokeswoman Mary Joan Hahn said in a statement. "We continue to gather information and work with law enforcement to support their investigation. Our hearts go out to the victim of this tragic crime and his family."

After he left Gonzaga, Coleman allegedly began having "homicidal thoughts," police said. Coleman traveled to the Spokane International Airport, which is where he got into a cab driven by Gagandeep Singh, 22, of Spokane Valley. Coleman then apparently asked to be driven to northern Idaho near the city of Sandpoint.

When the cab reached the city of Ponderay, which is northeast of Sandpoint, Coleman asked the driver to stop at a store. Coleman went into the store and purchased a knife, police said. Coleman later allegedly told police that his homicidal thoughts were only getting more intense as the cab ride wore on.

Singh then drove to Kootenai, the next town over from Ponderay, where Coleman allegedly stabbed Singh and then left the cab. Singh's family, who noticed he was gone for a long time, tried to contact him. A police officer eventually located Singh's cab, but he had already died.

Coleman was later arrested in Bonner County without incident, the sheriff's office reported. Kootenai is about 80 miles from where Coleman allegedly first contacted the cab at the Spokane International Airport.

One of Singh's coworkers, Ray Cansino, told Spokane's KXLY that he almost picked up Coleman at the Spokane airport, but Singh let him go take another call instead.

“I was second up, [Singh] was first, and he gave me the run when the light went green because he was helping me out. He was giving me an extra run and he was going to wait. And the guy he waited for was the guy who killed him.” Cansino told KXLY. “I wish it had been me. He was 21-years-old. I've had a life."

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