Montana Hotel Kidmapping Suspect Charged in Death

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A suspect arrested in the killing of an Illinois man who was kidnapped from a Montana hotel room faces charges including deliberate homicide after investigators say he acknowledged committing the crime.

Simon Elliot Jacobson made an initial appearance Monday in Justice Court in Billings, where bail was set at $1 million.

He remains in custody.

Court documents say Jacobson told investigators that he and an accomplice kidnapped Dejuan Laster of Rockford, Ill., from his hotel room and robbed him of $8,000.

Prosecutors say they drove the victim to a rural area outside Billings where Jacobson allegedly shot him in the arm and head, then smashed Laster's head with a shovel when he did not die immediately.

Alleged accomplice James Walker faces charges of robbery and kidnapping.