Nearly three years after Northern Colorado residents were terrorized by a series of seemingly random shootings that killed two and injured one, law enforcement officials announced they have made an arrest that connects a suspect to two of the shootings.
But members of the task force working to solve those crimes released no information about how they determined a Loveland man is responsible for trying to shoot at a motorcycle rider before shooting and killing another Loveland man out on his evening walk.
During a brief news conference Thursday morning, task force members refused to answer questions while they renewed their pleas for the public to provide any information they have about who could be responsible for the other shootings.
Christopher David Parker, 36, wasٱ for investigation of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in connection to the shooting death of 65-year-old William Roger Connole in Loveland on June 3, 2015, and the attempted murder of a motorcyclist the same night.
Investigators say on that night a pickup truck followed a motorcyclist in the area of Denver Avenue and East 18th Street in Loveland. The pickup truck driver shot at the motorcyclist, but missed. About 12 minutes later, less than two miles away, the shooter shot and killed Connole.
The Northern Colorado Shooting Task Force was formed in 2015 to solve six shootings, including Connole’s death and the shooting death of 48-year-old bicyclist John Jacoby in Windsor on May 18, 2015. Police said forensic evidence ties Jacoby’s death with the wounding of Cori Romero, 20. She was shot in the neck on April 22, 2015.
Investigators from numerous local, state and federal law enforcement agencies cleared 5,000 leads and 12 persons of interest during the task force’s work in the past three years. Investigators also looked at 15,000 pickup trucks for a possible connection to the series of shootings.
But authorities on Thursday said they still do not have information that ties Jacoby’s death and Romero’s shooting to Parker. The task force also has been unable to link Parker to a Sept. 15, 2015, shooting at a school in North Larimer County and a shooting the same weekend at a hospital. Investigators did not specifically rule out Parker as a suspect in those cases.
“All four of these cases remain open and unsolved,” Larimer County Capt. Bob Coleman said at Thursday’s news conference.
Jacoby, a part-time park caretaker and King Soopers bagger, was found dead by a passing motorist along Weld County Road 15, a sparsely traveled road lined with farm fields. Jacoby, who was developmentally delayed, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said he had been shot twice.
Romero, a Milliken resident, was shot in the neck as she drove south on Interstate 25 near Windsor. She was able to stop her vehicle and call 911. Authorities say her driver’s-side window was shattered.
Parker has a minor criminal history with misdemeanor convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia and operation of an unsafe vehicle.
He was placed on 72-hour mental health hold last year after police found “an arsenal of weapons in his home” when they investigated threats Parker had made on Facebook against a Loveland bank, according to the
The information about the guns and Parker’s mental health hold was included in a civil protection complaint filed May 5, 2017, by Guaranty Bank and Trust Company in Larimer County Court. The bank requested the order due to “physical assault, threat or other situation.”
During Thursday’s news conference, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith credited the task force with quickly stopping the shootings and determining a random serial shooter was involved.
Windsor Police Chief Rick Klimet then urged anyone with information that could help solve Jacoby’s murder to come forward.
Anyone with information on any of the six shootings is encouraged to call 970-498-5595 or email taskforce@larimer.org. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the person or people responsible for the shootings.
![[prison 19] Caption: This is Cellhouse 1, Pod A, from ground level inside the Sterling Correctional Facility which is located outside of Sterling, Colorado Thursday afternoon. Photographer: LEW SHERMAN Title: FREELANCE Credit: SPECIAL TO THE POST City: Sterling State: CO Country: USA Date: 19990617 ObjectName: prison 19 Keyword: PUBDATE____1999_06_22](/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20151207__denverpostp1.jpg?w=538 "20151207__denverpost~p1.jpg")
