COLORADO SPRINGS — Three Fort Carson soldiers will face trial on charges of murder and robbery in the March 3 slaying of an unarmed man ambushed outside a Colorado Springs motorcycle club, a judge ruled Friday.
Sgt. Christopher Mountjoy, 31, Sgt. John Burrell, 27, and Pvt. Eric Bartholomew, 22 — all members of the Sin City Disciples motorcycle club — are charged in the death of Virgil “Jason” Means.
Fourth Judicial District Judge Will Bain ruled Friday at the conclusion of a 1 ½ -day preliminary hearing that prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed with their case against the trio.
Means, 31, was fatally shot while sitting in a Cadillac parked outside their motorcycle clubhouse on West Vermijo Street.
Police detectives testified that Means, a guest at an after-hours party, had been beaten up by club members a half-hour earlier and was returning for his missing wallet when he was shot. Investigators said he was the victim of a “planned maneuver” involving at least three shooters and two slow-moving cars that provided them with cover during the attack.
Two other men are charged with accessory to murder, and Colorado Springs police say the case remains under investigation.
Mountjoy and Burrell will be arraigned July 19. Bartholomew is due for arraignment on Aug. 16.
All three will be held without bail pending trial.
