A St. Tammany Parish grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Slidell man on first-degree murder charges in the April 6 death of Slidell cab driver Rob Matteson, 54, who also owned Parish Cabs.

Spencer Kasheed Watts, 18, 1132 St. Paul St., Slidell, allegedly stabbed Matteson multiple times with a knife after Matteson had driven Watts to his girlfriend’s house on North Parkway Street just off Brownswitch Road early that morning.

According to St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain, Matteson picked up Watts on West Hall Street around 4 a.m. Strain said Watts got into Matteson’s cab with the intention of robbing him. When the cab got to North Parkway Street, Watts allegedly grabbed Matteson from behind and stabbed him 19 times in the head while holding the cab driver against the front seat. Strain said Watts then took Matteson’s wallet containing “hundreds of dollars,” tossed the wallet and fled the scene.

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Parish Cabs made a 911 call to the Slidell Police Department around 5 a.m. The dispatcher told police they could not raise Matteson on his car radio or his cell phone. Police and drivers with Parish Cabs were alerted and started a search for Matteson, who drove a classic yellow 1954 Checker cab.

Matteson’s body was discovered by a resident of North Parkway Street who had come out of her house at 6 a.m. and saw the cab sitting in the middle of the street. Strain said detectives found the murder weapon near the scene of the crime and later found Matteson’s wallet in some bushes near Interstate 12.

Following up on leads, detectives narrowed the search to Watts and found him at a friend’s house in the Huntwyck subdivision off Gause Boulevard. After questioning an “elusive” Watts, deputies got an arrest warrant and arrested him on a murder charge at 8:45 p.m. April 6.

Watts, who turned 18 in February, is no stranger to the law. Strain said he has a juvenile record.

The sheriff also said at the time of Watts’ arrest the young man had had a fight with his father just before he called for a cab. However, Strain does not know if this had anything to do with the murder.

First-degree murder is a capital offense, and Watts could face the death penalty. Rick Wood, spokesman for St. Tammany District Attorney Walter Reed said Thursday Reed has not decided if he would seek the death penalty.

Matteson’s murder was the second homicide in St. Tammany Parish this year.