Background: Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. (Google Maps). Inset: Jackson T. Keller (La Plata County Sheriff's Office).
A Colorado college student has been arrested after police said he tried to have his dorm mate killed.
Jackson T. Keller, 19, posted $50,000 bail after he was booked into the La Plata County Jail on Jan. 29 and charged with solicitation to commit first-degree murder. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said in a press release that it worked with the Fort Lewis College Police Department after allegations that Keller was plotting to have a fellow student killed. Authorities said Keller "allegedly attempted to persuade two separate parties to commit the murder of a fellow student in exchange for a cash payment."
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Durango Herald, a local news outlet, one of the parties that Keller allegedly tried to have carry out the act, fellow student Kobe McGill, notified police after he was approached. McGill told police that Keller and his alleged target were once on friendly terms, but their relationship had soured in recent weeks.
Keller and the student he allegedly targeted were teammates who played for the college football team and lived in a dorm room that shared a bathroom. McGill told police that the alleged target had started locking his door to keep Keller out of his room. On the night of Jan. 28, McGill was with the teammate in his room when Keller tried to enter the room. After McGill and the student went to confront Keller, an argument ensued, and the student knocked over Keller's TV onto a video game console. There was no damage, but Keller challenged the student to a fight. The student said he went to the hallway to have it out with Keller, but the latter stayed in his room.
McGill told police that Keller was holding on to a pair of scissors as the student left the room and allegedly said he "would stab anyone who came into his room to try and hurt him."
After the altercation, Keller allegedly asked McGill if he would be willing to kill the student, asking if he would "put a hat on him" for $500. McGill told police that he refused, but then Keller told him "never mind," and that he knew someone else he could ask.
According to the affidavit, McGill was present when Keller received a FaceTime call from three men from Colorado Springs who had firearms. McGill told police he watched as Keller asked the men if they would "put a hat" on the student for $500. After they agreed, McGill told police he saw Keller complete the transaction on Cash App.
McGill quickly told the student what he had allegedly just witnessed, and both students notified school officials, who then notified police.
When police questioned Keller, he denied the alleged plot and said authorities could take his phone after he spoke to his father. Police said that while Keller was in the interview room, cameras caught him "quickly moving through apps on his phone" as he spoke to his father. Keller's father told his son to stop talking until they got an attorney.
Keller was charged with solicitation to commit first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon on college grounds. He posted $50,000 bail and was released from La Plata County Jail. His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 23.
Local CBS affiliate KCNC reported that a mandatory protective order was filed against Keller, ordering him not to make contact with the student or go anywhere near him.