GUILTY CO - Possible Serial Shooter Has Colorado Drivers on Edge *Arrest* #4

[margarita25]

I saw on 9news earlier today that 4 juveniles were arrested for a convenience store robbery (711) that occurred in Loveland back in early November. One of them had explosives that that were found when a search warrant was executed, iirc. Just posting for reference, not that there is any relation.

 

[Forager]

Task force continues to investigate shootings
Dana Rieck, Reporter-Herald, 12/29/15

"LOVELAND — More than eight months after the first in a string of shootings, the Northern Colorado Task Force is still investigating several unsolved shootings from earlier in the year.

According to the David Moore, spokesman for the task force, tips about the shootings are still being sent to investigators regularly — a number regarding those tips was unavailable, however.

"The investigation is still very active, we still have the full time office," Moore said. " (The task force) is staffed as it was when it was created. There are all the same investigations from all the same agencies... ."

The piece gave good summary of the conventional wisdom about the case. It was a little light on the window shatterings side of the story, but didn't dismiss them as road debris hits.

"Several reports were filed with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in which moving cars' windows were shattered — investigators could not determine the cause of the broken windows or whether any of those incidents were related to the shootings."

I made a "comment" to the story, (first time I've tried that) to point out that there have been a lot more than "several" reports of window shatterings, and good reason to believe that many of them are deliberate. I mentioned that the NOCO Task Force was "tight lipped" about the shatterings and suggested that a better informed public might provide better tips. The comment was snipped almost immediately. C'est la vie. I'm afraid we'll have a chance to make that point again.

 

[Hatfield]

Task force continues to investigate shootings
Dana Rieck, Reporter-Herald, 12/29/15

"LOVELAND — More than eight months after the first in a string of shootings, the Northern Colorado Task Force is still investigating several unsolved shootings from earlier in the year.

According to the David Moore, spokesman for the task force, tips about the shootings are still being sent to investigators regularly — a number regarding those tips was unavailable, however.

"The investigation is still very active, we still have the full time office," Moore said. " (The task force) is staffed as it was when it was created. There are all the same investigations from all the same agencies... ."

The piece gave good summary of the conventional wisdom about the case. It was a little light on the window shatterings side of the story, but didn't dismiss them as road debris hits.

"Several reports were filed with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in which moving cars' windows were shattered — investigators could not determine the cause of the broken windows or whether any of those incidents were related to the shootings."

I made a "comment" to the story, (first time I've tried that) to point out that there have been a lot more than "several" reports of window shatterings, and good reason to believe that many of them are deliberate. I mentioned that the NOCO Task Force was "tight lipped" about the shatterings and suggested that a better informed public might provide better tips. The comment was snipped almost immediately. C'est la vie. I'm afraid we'll have a chance to make that point again.

Thanks at least for trying to help inform the public.

That article is depressing in a couple ways. If it has been staffed with the same people and same number of people and we are no further along than we are now then changes need to be made.

A good investigative group knows that it is good to get different set of eyes on things. So why are they keeping same people on and getting nowhere.

The other thing that is depressing is the continued "downplay" of the window shatterings. They were very numerous in a short time frame and I could have sworn there were at least a couple "proven" incidents where witnesses and/or news reports said that they had to be shots from something. The lady with neck wound and some of the pictures of the holes in the windows left no doubt that some mechanical projectile came from somewhere other than the road.

My suggestion to them is to totally replace the whole task force with brand new people since they have made no progress. They had their chance and got nowhere.

I have a bad feeling that the task force really did find out that some of these car window shatterings were real random shootings and they are just not telling people. If they are holding back on informing the public then it needs to stop because public safety is at risk. I don't really care what their motive is anymore for not informing the public but it needs to stop.

If someone in the future gets killed by a random shooter on one of those highways and we come to find out later that the task force was withholding information then I see a huge lawsuit coming.

Because if people did know everything, then people can choose to take alternate routes, be more aware on the road, and take other precautions if they knew more. So IMO a person would have a very realistic chance of winning a huge lawsuit over this if we find out some things were hidden.

 

[Hatfield]

From the above link:

"Driver saw a small flash and then something hit his windshield.

Westbound Weld Co. Rd. 18 (direction?) near Weld Co. Rd.53, Keenesburg"

FOXFIRE, do frangibles cause a flash? Isn't that the gun? Gun type? "Saw a small flash"...seems important, not sure how?

Flash...? I hate that I'm relatively gun stupid right now,

What causes a flash specifically (Google in progress)

I know Foxfire can answer too since he is very knowledgeable about this subject but wanted to throw in my 2 cents about the "flash".

This is significant because if the driver saw a "Flash" and then had impact to windshield right after then it implies he saw the explosive discharge leaving the muzzle of a gun. It doesn't say what time it happened in the small article which is important because if it happened during the day it could have helped us determine a more unique ammo. But if at night then the "flash" can be seen with any typical ammunition. Most all guns when fired at night will cause a very visible small fire burst "flash" leaving the muzzle of the weapon. If its a revolver handgun you can even see "flash" around the cylinder because the explosive gasses from the shell escapes around the cylinder too.
The explosion of the gunpowder in the shell as it forces out the bullet will always cause a "flash" out the muzzle at night. In daytime it is much harder to see and sometimes will only see smoke.

If it happened in the daytime and he saw a flash then it could have helped us determine a unique type of ammunition like "Frangible" ammo because some of the more unique bullets we have been discussing like "tracer" rounds and such will have a larger burst or "flash" than ordinary ammo and can be seen in daytime.

Since we don't know the time when it happened, then we really cannot deduce anything more than 1 important thing.
A gun of some sort was being fired right towards his windshield.

And he was most likely looking right toward the barrel of the weapon. Like maybe someone in vehicle in front of him was hanging out and shooting right at his windshield.

 

[Forager]

Task force continues to investigate shootings
Dana Rieck, Reporter-Herald, 12/29/15

"LOVELAND — More than eight months after the first in a string of shootings, the Northern Colorado Task Force is still investigating several unsolved shootings from earlier in the year.

According to the David Moore, spokesman for the task force, tips about the shootings are still being sent to investigators regularly — a number regarding those tips was unavailable, however.

"The investigation is still very active, we still have the full time office," Moore said. " (The task force) is staffed as it was when it was created. There are all the same investigations from all the same agencies... ."

The piece gave good summary of the conventional wisdom about the case. It was a little light on the window shatterings side of the story, but didn't dismiss them as road debris hits.

"Several reports were filed with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in which moving cars' windows were shattered — investigators could not determine the cause of the broken windows or whether any of those incidents were related to the shootings."

I made a "comment" to the story, (first time I've tried that) to point out that there have been a lot more than "several" reports of window shatterings, and good reason to believe that many of them are deliberate. I mentioned that the NOCO Task Force was "tight lipped" about the shatterings and suggested that a better informed public might provide better tips. The comment was snipped almost immediately. C'est la vie. I'm afraid we'll have a chance to make that point again.

I take it back. The "comment" post I made to the Reporter-Herald story has reappeared under the story.

 

[Foxfire]

http://www.reporterherald.com/news/...09/task-force-continues-investigate-shootings
<Snipped from article for focus & BBM>

The first shooting was that of 20-year-old Milliken woman Cori Romero on the evening of April 22. She was driving south on Interstate 25, east of Fort Collins, at night when she suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. Romero had surgery that night and survived.

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The second shooting, on the morning of May 18, was that of 48-year-old city of Windsor employee John Jacoby, who was riding his bike on Weld County Road 15. He was reported to have been shot twice and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The two shootings were officially linked through evidence on May 28; the task force was established at that time.

He said that while those two shootings have been connected through evidence, the June 3 homicide of 65-year-old William Connole near downtown Loveland has yet to be either officially linked or ruled a separate incident.

"Obviously it could certainly turn out that (they are connected) or it could turn out that they are not connected at all," Moore said. "If something connects them all I am confident we will alert the public like we have with the other cases."

An attempted shooting was reported to authorities a few weeks after the June 3 homicide of Connole. It was reported as having occurred the same night as the man's death, but no injuries were suffered in that incident.

___________________________________

RE: "If something connects them all I am confident we will alert the public like we have with the other cases."

"Imo, the June 3/2015 homicide of Connole and the later reported vehicle shooting on the same night as his death is the connection".
Imo, the reason for the silence by the NOCO Shooter Task Force in connecting the three shootings of Romero, Jacoby, and Connole is that the investigation would be elevated to serial killer status..

FBI - Serial Murder
Behavioral Analysis Unit-2
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime
Critical Incident Response Group
https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder
FBI Definition of Serial Murder;

Serial Murder: The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events.
Federal Bureau of Investigation

 

[Forager]

Larimer County sheriffs field reports of shots fired near Loveland Saturday
Katie de la Rosa, The Coloradoan, 12/26/15

"Two separate callers reported shots fired from a vehicle, one on southbound Interstate 25 and one on westbound Colorado Highway 402, at about 5 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. Neither a vehicle or a suspect or any damage was located."

Could this be (one of) our guy(s) reminding us that he is still out there? The recent shots (the orange squares) were taken right in the core of our case area: within several miles of the Connole murder, and within eight miles of both the Romero shooting and the Jacoby killing (the purple stars). Both of the 12/16/15 shots were taken within 10 miles of where the Task force had reported shots hitting school building and Banner Fort Collins medical center in September (the orange diamonds). Or am I just connecting unrelated dots because they are close? We've seen so much random gun play in the area that we have plenty of dots to connect.

 

[margarita25]

Larimer County sheriffs field reports of shots fired near Loveland Saturday
Katie de la Rosa, The Coloradoan, 12/26/15

"Two separate callers reported shots fired from a vehicle, one on southbound Interstate 25 and one on westbound Colorado Highway 402, at about 5 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. Neither a vehicle or a suspect or any damage was located."

Could this be (one of) our guy(s) reminding us that he is still out there? The recent shots (the orange squares) were taken right in the core of our case area: within several miles of the Connole murder, and within eight miles of both the Romero shooting and the Jacoby killing (the purple stars). Both of the 12/16/15 shots were taken within 10 miles of where the Task force had reported shots hitting school building and Banner Fort Collins medical center in September (the orange diamonds). Or am I just connecting unrelated dots because they are close? We've seen so much random gun play in the area that we have plenty of dots to connect.

View attachment 86358

View attachment 86360

Wow...

 

[margarita25]

I can't tell you what an odd feeling it is to see my house on your map, Forager. Thank you all for keeping up with this. Your latest graphics are spectacular, particularly the last one with the shaded box (reposted below).

Yep. Definitely in the hot zone.

 

[margarita25]

Larimer County sheriffs field reports of shots fired near Loveland Saturday
Katie de la Rosa, The Coloradoan, 12/26/15

"Two separate callers reported shots fired from a vehicle, one on southbound Interstate 25 and one on westbound Colorado Highway 402, at about 5 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. Neither a vehicle or a suspect or any damage was located."

Could this be (one of) our guy(s) reminding us that he is still out there? The recent shots (the orange squares) were taken right in the core of our case area: within several miles of the Connole murder, and within eight miles of both the Romero shooting and the Jacoby killing (the purple stars). Both of the 12/16/15 shots were taken within 10 miles of where the Task force had reported shots hitting school building and Banner Fort Collins medical center in September (the orange diamonds). Or am I just connecting unrelated dots because they are close? We've seen so much random gun play in the area that we have plenty of dots to connect.

So, this would have been on a Saturday afternoon. Also, obviously the day after Christmas.

 

[margarita25]

Larimer County sheriffs field reports of shots fired near Loveland Saturday
Katie de la Rosa, The Coloradoan, 12/26/15

"Two separate callers reported shots fired from a vehicle, one on southbound Interstate 25 and one on westbound Colorado Highway 402, at about 5 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. Neither a vehicle or a suspect or any damage was located."

Could this be (one of) our guy(s) reminding us that he is still out there? The recent shots (the orange squares) were taken right in the core of our case area: within several miles of the Connole murder, and within eight miles of both the Romero shooting and the Jacoby killing (the purple stars). Both of the 12/16/15 shots were taken within 10 miles of where the Task force had reported shots hitting school building and Banner Fort Collins medical center in September (the orange diamonds). Or am I just connecting unrelated dots because they are close? We've seen so much random gun play in the area that we have plenty of dots to connect.

So, looking at the other red dot incident that appears to be practically the same location as one of the incidents from the past Saturday (12/26/2015)...Here is the information about that incident from textual descriptions within the case map (thanks again Forager):

"Shat. 4/29/15 4/4

Description:
Northbound I-25, passenger side window near mile marker 257 at -11:00 AM Wed. 4/29/15. Per Larimer CSO. Source: Deb Stanley, 7News Denver: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...rt-windows-shattering-in-n-colorado_35618672_ and http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/04/29/more-shattered-windows-add-to-mystery-in-northern-colorado/ "

*************

A few notes about this incident (4/29/15) which seems to correspond geographically to 12/26 (practically on top of it):

A) Note that it is not only within the geographical proximity to one of Saturday's incidents making it within our hot zone location wise, but it is also in the hot zone time-period wise, not only 7 days after Romero's shooting, but also embedded timewise within a gazillion other incidents occurring in the days prior.

B) That incident is one of four which occurred on that same day (busy day).
Also, appears to be the last Wednesday of the month (another double hot zone day of the week wise, as well as end of the month wise).

C) Direction was northbound, passenger side was hit so the shooter must have been firing from the east in a west direction.

D) There is 34 again.

E) This would have been before Jacoby; obviously close location-wise.

F) SO CLOSE (how many miles?) to the shots missed incident as and Connolle'so fatal shooting on 6/3/15.

Another thought, if this is our guy (s), and not a copycat, do these recent incidents lend themselves to demonstrating a patient shooter, due to the time elapsing between incidents (of course, the ones we know about)?

****************

Back to April 29, bringing forward what we have so far in our threads re: this date.

Eta: OK my eyes and brain have taken a crap, all the dots and dates are running together, I need to check with Forager on something re: all these dates, will make a note to pick up here. All I see now are a bunch of chicken pox.

Sorry if my above post is all a brain fart and anything is mixedup or inaccurate. It's good we have all this information, but sorting through all this data is overwhelming at times.

 

[margarita25]

Woa, I'm going back to look for notes re: 4/29 and I found an old post by FHG, thread 1, post #155, she mentions a .22 rifle. Odd I just mentioned that upstream, why I don't remember...

 

[margarita25]

Ok, so more on 4/29, Forager breaks these down some in Post 489 in Thread 1; that was early on, so there must be more.

 

[margarita25]

How is there nothing of use on any CDOT cameras?

 

[Forager]

I can't tell you what an odd feeling it is to see my house on your map, Forager. Thank you all for keeping up with this. Your latest graphics are spectacular, particularly the last one with the shaded box (reposted below).

Yep. Definitely in the hot zone.

We always knew that any place you lived would be a hot zone!

Thanks for the compliments, but it's really Google and the I-25 Window Shatterer that deserve the credit for how the map looks. I'm a little concerned that the map doesn't do enough to help people understand the story as a whole. I'd love any suggestions for improvement.

The press, I note, doesn't seem to have bought the notion that there is an I-25 Window Shatter at work. There were at least four versions of year-end reviews of the Romero, Jacoby and Connole cases. Only one mentioned the window shatterings, describing them as "unexplained". It seems so clear to me, but I guess that's because we've immersed in it. I don't think most people know what to believe about it.

That may be just as well, though. I'm starting to doubt that the I-25 Shatterer will be caught, however diligent LE is, or however well informed the citizenry is. Long running highway shooting series are rarely solved - only 4 of 19 (21%) were during the period 1/1/13 - 10/31/15. (See the "Cluster Timeline" tab of this spreadsheet for clusters list). I-25 Shatterer or team of shatterers has had a lot of experience with an MO that works. They won't be making many mistakes at this point, and will probably stop of their own accord. I only found one that lasted a year during that 1/13 - 10/15 period. (Same source).

 

[Forager]

How is there nothing of use on any CDOT cameras?

The resolution on the ones I've seen via the internet is too poor to make out the kind of detail you'd need to spot a shooter. The cars look like ants with headlights. The embankments are a blurry jumble.

 

[Forager]

So, looking at the other red dot incident that appears to be practically the same location as one of the incidents from the past Saturday (12/26/2015)...Here is the information about that incident from textual descriptions within the case map (thanks again Forager):

"Shat. 4/29/15 4/4

Description:
Northbound I-25, passenger side window near mile marker 257 at -11:00 AM Wed. 4/29/15. Per Larimer CSO. Source: Deb Stanley, 7News Denver: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...rt-windows-shattering-in-n-colorado_35618672_ and http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/04/29/more-shattered-windows-add-to-mystery-in-northern-colorado/ "

*************

A few notes about this incident (4/29/15) which seems to correspond geographically to 12/26 (practically on top of it):

A) Note that it is not only within the geographical proximity to one of Saturday's incidents making it within our hot zone location wise, but it is also in the hot zone time-period wise, not only 7 days after Romero's shooting, but also embedded timewise within a gazillion other incidents occurring in the days prior.

B) That incident is one of four which occurred on that same day (busy day).
Also, appears to be the last Wednesday of the month (another double hot zone day of the week wise, as well as end of the month wise).

C) Direction was northbound, passenger side was hit so the shooter must have been firing from the east in a west direction.

D) There is 34 again.

E) This would have been before Jacoby; obviously close location-wise.

F) SO CLOSE (how many miles?) to the shots missed incident as and Connolle'so fatal shooting on 6/3/15.

Another thought, if this is our guy (s), and not a copycat, do these recent incidents lend themselves to demonstrating a patient shooter, due to the time elapsing between incidents (of course, the ones we know about)?

****************
< abridged in response >

Sorry if my above post is all a brain fart and anything is mixedup or inaccurate. It's good we have all this information, but sorting through all this data is overwhelming at times.

Not at all! That was excellent stuff, and hard work, I know. Thanks for digging so deeply into it. That's interesting how you linked incidents by time and place. The recent unseen shootings weren't far from the areas near Loveland that saw so much activity in the spring, and particularly in the Romero, Jacoby, Cannole, Missed Anon. Mortorcyclist series. (You'd asked, above, about the distances involved. The Highway 402 unseen shot was within a 2 to 4 mile drive of the Connole killing. The shots that missed the motorcyclist were another couple of miles further away by car. The shots near the I-25 car park were a 2.5 mile and 5 mile drive from the Motorcyclist and Connole shootings respectively.)

But I'm not sure I'd tie in the I-25 Shatterer(s), whom I'm seeing as a different person these days, from the more vicious, blunt shooter involved in the Romero, Jacoby, Connole, Motorcyclist cases. It isn't even clear whether the shot that was heard near I-25 was from I-25 or the park and ride just off of it, and more in the side-road setting of the Romero... Motorcyclist shooter. And these shots were taken with a fullfledged firearm, which the I-25 Shatterer doesn't seem to use.

Odds are though, that the recent shots fired were just by some jerk with leftover egg nog and the new pistol he got for Christmas.

 

[margarita25]

rsbm

Odds are though, that the recent shots fired were just by some jerk with leftover egg nog and the new pistol he got for Christmas.

I don't know Forager, the locations and proximity to Connole...and the latest reports are specifically "shots fired from a vehicle", and not shatterings...I am definitely concerned about these recent incidents on 12/26...

 

[margarita25]

The resolution on the ones I've seen via the internet is too poor to make out the kind of detail you'd need to spot a shooter. The cars look like ants with headlights. The embankments are a blurry jumble.

I hear ya, but in this day and age they can tell from space what color underwear people are wearing AND there are digital imaging specialists employed by the FBI that can do some amazing enhancement work, at least from what I've seen on Forensic Files, and those are older cases. Jmo

I was watching a show last night called Underworld, Inc. It was about "professional cheaters" in Vegas, their tactics, and the technology used to catch them. There was mention of all the new cameras put up everywhere by Homeland Security.

 

[margarita25]

Maybe there's a deeper message by the perp, that's there's no Love in the Land lol. As for Windsor, who knows...