A man who called 911 saying he had shot an intruder breaking into his home was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.
Floyd Nuss, 61, was being held at the Jefferson County jail without bail in the shooting death of his roommate, 51-year-old Richard Kohler.
According to an arrest affidavit, Nuss told police he was watching television about 6:30 p.m. Nov. 16 when he heard someone using a “screwdriver” to break through his front door in the 1300 block of South Wadsworth Boulevard.
When police asked Nuss how he knew it was a screwdriver, he replied, “That’s the noise a screwdriver makes,” according to the affidavit.
Nuss told police it was dark and he couldn’t see the “intruder’s” face. He also told investigators that Kohler owed him 12 days of late rent money.
Nuss told police he had posted a handwritten eviction notice on the front door but the lock had not been changed.
Police said they found the eviction notice in Kohler’s pants pocket along with Kohler’s key to the front door.
Several times during an interview after the shooting, Nuss told police: “He broke into my house.”
Kohler was shot twice with a .32-caliber Derringer pistol. Nuss said he commanded the intruder to “stop” but got no response.
