Nicholas Jordan: Man accused in Colorado double murder threatened to kill roommate earlier over garbage
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
COLORADO, UNITED STATES: According to a probable cause affidavit released on Friday, February 23, a man accused of murdering his roommate and a woman allegedly threatened to "kill him" a month prior to the fatal shooting after the victim asked him to take out the garbage again.
On February 16, Nicholas Jordan, 25, fatally shot Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, who was reportedly romantically involved with Knopp.
The tragedy unfolded in the shared dormitory room of Jordan and Knopp at the University of Colorado on February 16. Samuel Knopp and Nicholas Jordan had fought over a bag of trash a month before the fatal shooting.
According to the document, Knopp and another roomate who lived in a neighbouring room, had reported Jordan many times for making the living conditions unsafe and smoking in the room. This happened at least three times from early January, as stated in campus police reports.
On January 9, Knopp and Jordan argued over a bag of trash. Jordan apparently threatened Knopp, saying he would harm him if he was asked to take out the trash again as per Fox News.
Knopp then put the bag of trash near Jordan's door. This seemed to have upset Jordan and led to more threats, the document mentions.
The person who called 911 also said that Jordan smoked marijuana and cigarettes and that his living area was messy. Jordan's Facebook page has many videos of him smoking, with the latest one posted on January 29.
The day before Knopp was killed, he told his music teacher, Jon Forshee, that he was relieved because Jordan was moving out the next night, which was Friday. Knopp said he was eager to move out because living in the dorm with Jordan wasn't comfortable.
Victim's roommates called 911 after hearing a person’s moaning
At about 6 am on February 16, gunshots woke up one of the victim's roommates. They called 911 and told the police they heard someone moaning.
When the police arrived, they found Knopp and Celie Montgomery, who was not a student but was said to be Knopp's girlfriend, with gunshot wounds. They were clearly dead.
The roommate said they locked the door and called 911. At that moment, the police saw a blurry figure running away, who they think was Jordan.
What happened in recent court hearing?
During his court appearance on Friday morning, February 23, prosecutors said that Nicholas, who is from Detroit, was a new student at UCCS and was in the process of leaving the school. They said this was why they believed he might try to escape.
Nicholas' brother, Brandon, defended him in an interview with Fox 2 Detroit, saying that the police had arrested the wrong person. He expressed his love and support for his brother, saying he knew Nicholas didn't commit the crime.
However, law enforcement and prosecutors disagreed with Brandon's claims.
They mentioned security cameras that students didn't know about. They saw someone wearing dark clothes running out of the dorm building at 5.56 am on February 16. They believed this person parked in a certain area to avoid being seen by the cameras.
The police were looking for Nicholas' black 2099 Ford Escape, which they stopped on January 20 for making an illegal U-turn.
On Monday morning, February 19, the Colorado Springs Police Department's Motor Vehicle Theft Unit saw the truck, and a tactical team arrested Nicholas about 30 minutes later without any trouble.
When Nicholas was arrested, the officers found an AK-47 and a handgun in his car, according to what prosecutors said during his second court appearance on Friday morning, February 23.
Nicholas is facing charges of two counts of first-degree murder, felony menacing, and committing a violent crime. He is being held on $5 million bail in a jail in El Paso County, Colorado.
A status conference is set for March 15, and his next court date is scheduled for March 27.
