Suspect Held in Killing of Professor

A 22-year-old Redlands man was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of killing a retired college professor in his isolated hilltop home in early January, Riverside authorities said.

Police said the suspect, Johnathan Ross Luther, had shown up at the professor’s home nearly a month before the shooting but left without incident. Police said he returned, however, on Jan. 2.

Professor Brian Jacques was hit by bullets fired through his bedroom window at 6:50 p.m. that Thursday as he lay in bed. He and his wife, Florence, lived at the end of Mountain High Road, about 200 yards from the nearest neighbor.

Florence Jacques, who was ironing in an adjacent walk-in closet, heard loud noises and saw several flashes of light, a neighbor recalled later. She reportedly asked her husband if the television set had exploded and he replied, “No, I’ve been shot.”

Jacques sustained a single gunshot wound in the chest. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Luther was arrested at his mother’s home Wednesday, where investigators found a 9-millimeter handgun believed used in what Riverside Police Capt. Dave Dominguez said was “a cold-blooded, senseless and brutal murder.”

Luther confessed to the crime, Dominguez said, but provided a murky motivation. “He said he was compelled to do it,” Dominguez said. “He described the victim and his house as evil.”

Police said they are trying to determine whether Luther has psychiatric problems and a history of drug abuse.

At the time of the shooting, police had few clues in the attack. Witnesses had reported seeing a small, dark-colored car on the road leading up to the house shortly before the shooting. Police also had an “incident report” filed by the Jacqueses on Dec. 7.

That report indicated that a man named John Luther had knocked on their door and told them “he was impressed to come to their home,” Dominguez said. “He gave no further explanation.”

Fearing for their safety, the Jacqueses said they asked him to leave and he complied.

After the killing, detectives discovered that a Redlands man with the same name had relatives living near the Jacques residence. Luther, who was wanted by Redlands police for allegedly assaulting two females with a firearm, drove a black Honda.

“The arrest is the result of solid criminal investigative work,” Dominguez said. “It has brought a sense of relief to the Jacques family.”

In a related matter, Riverside police arrested two men a week ago on charges of burglarizing the Jacques’ home a week after the shooting. The victim’s wife had been living elsewhere and “a tremendous amount of personal property was taken,” Dominguez said.

Investigators were alerted on Jan. 30 that fingerprints recovered at the home were matched to William Corbin Jr., 32, of Hemet. Corbin, on parole for theft-related charges, was arrested the next night in Banning.

Investigators searched Corbin’s home and a storage building in Riverside, where they recovered nearly all the stolen property. They also arrested John Burke, 32, of Mira Loma for allegedly helping Corbin during the burglary.

Jacques had taught at La Sierra University, about two miles from his home. “This has been a terrible tragedy,” said Larry Becker, a campus spokesman.

“We were patient and knew the Riverside Police Department would find the guy eventually,” he said. “Now we intend to stand by and support the family any way we can.”