Suspect in fatal stabbing of roommate denies he knew victim

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016 | 7 p.m.

In his dying words after being gravely wounded, 20-year-old Kevin Zaldana told his mother his roommate had tried to kill him.

And another roommate saw the man Zaldana had named run out of the central valley house after the stabbing.

But when he was questioned by Metro Police detectives, the suspect, Jacob Driscoll, 20, he said he was homeless and didn't know the victim, according to his arrest report.

Driscoll was arrested shortly after the stabbing in the 600 block of Princeton Street, near Washington Avenue and Decatur Boulevard, police said.

First responders were summoned to the house about 1:30 a.m. and found Zaldana suffering from multiple stab wounds, police said. He died at University Medical Center.

Zaldana, his mother, and two men including Driscoll lived in the house, police said.

The roommate who had seen Driscoll flee the room said the suspect and victim were alone and that he heard Zaldana scream before Driscoll left, police said.

Zaldana stumbled to his mother's bedroom door asking for help, police said.

Just over an hour after the stabbing, Driscoll showed up to a woman's house about a mile away, police said. He was out of breath and needed a place to stay, the woman told detectives.

The woman denied him shelter and called 911, police said. Driscoll was arrested in the neighborhood.

Driscoll, who had blood on his jacket, said he was homeless and didn't know a "Kevin" before requesting an attorney, police said.

He was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on one count of murder, jail logs show. His next court appearance is Dec. 21.