Man booked in murder of Uber driver and passenger; 3 others wanted

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The man accused of killing Andrew Stiller and his passenger on Lundi Gras has been arrested. A search is ongoing for three additional suspects.

Stiller’s wife, Melissa, says the pain of losing her husband will never go away, though an arrest brings her and her daughter, Lainey Bethe, some peace.

“I never, in a million years thought this would happen, and I just want him back but nothing can bring him back,” Melissa Stiller said. “It eases the thought that this guy is still not walking around on the street. That it’s not going to be somebody else’s family member that is lost.”

Tyree Quinn, 33, was booked Wednesday (March 1) with two counts of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree murder.

“This is a murder. A murder, even though my husband wasn’t the target,” says Stiller.

Stiller says her husband, a child therapist and Uber driver, picked up 21-year-old Johnell Hampton in New Orleans East around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20.

Moments later, police say Quinn started shooting into the car on the I-10 Service Road, striking both Stiller and Hampton. Both of them died.

Stiller’s Durango ran through the fence and onto the interstate where it crashed into another vehicle, carrying three people.

Two of them were seriously injured in the crash, and the driver of that vehicle was shot in the head.

“There are five people involved in this, five different families,” says Stiller.

It’s believed Stiller’s passenger, Hampton, was the intended target, but investigators aren’t ready to discuss a motive in the case.

“It’s senseless. It’s barbaric. I’ve never seen anything like it in my 20-plus years on the job,” says NOPD Capt. Kevin Burns.

Police say they were able to connect Quinn to the murders because he was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the shootings.

“It absolutely aided us in this investigation and with this apprehension,” says Capt. Burns.

A bail bondsman demanded Quinn be monitored in order to post a $225,000 bond back in November, according to electronic monitor provider Matt Dennis.

Quinn’s criminal history dates back to 2016. His arrests include armed robbery, possession of a firearm, theft of a vehicle, and hit and run driving.

Stiller doesn’t believe Quinn should have been back on the street.

“How does this keep happening?” says Stiller.

“When will they face the real punishment that they deserve?” says Lainey Bethe.

She and Bethe say they want justice and they have a message for the District Attorney’s Office.

“Give the right justice that is deserved,” says Bethe.

“That is the only message; do your damn job so that innocent lives are protected,” says Stiller.

The NOPD says its investigation is far from over.

Investigators believe there were four shooters on the interstate that day, and they’re still searching for three additional suspects. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the NOPD’s homicide division at (504) 658-5300 or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.

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