A Colorado Springs student who shot his roommate and his wife in a campus dormitory had previously threatened to kill him for not taking out the trash, weeks before the heinous crime.
Nicholas Jordan, 25, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, felony menacing and committing a crime of violence for the Feb. 16 slaying of his roommate, Samuel Knopp, 24, and Celie Rain Montgomery, 26.
Knopp, a talented musician, lived in the University of Colorado (Colorado Springs) Crestone House campus dormitory with Jordan.
A month before the double homicide, Jordan threatened Knopp by telling him he would ‘kill’ him if he was asked to take out the trash again,’ according to court documents released Friday.
A report was filed with campus police and housing officials about the couple’s multiple conflicts, including the latest threat, but there was no indication that university officials made any attempt to remove the suspect from the room, according to court documents.
Knopp had complained about his randomly selected new roommate and was ready to move out on the day he died.
Public defenders William Patrick and Nick Rogers (pictured left) represent suspect Nicholas Jordan, 25, in El Paso County Fourth Judicial Court, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Jordan was arrested on February 19, three days after the deadly shooting.
Sam Knopp, 24, was a senior studying music, had complained about his randomly selected new roommate, Nicholas Jordan, and was ready to move out on the day he died.
Double homicide victim Celie Rain Montgomery, 26, was not a college student
Chris Valentine, a spokesperson for the University of Colorado Springs, said that due to the ongoing investigation and federal student privacy laws, the university could not “provide any additional information about the individuals involved in this incident.”
The new details about the shooting and threat were included in an arrest affidavit that was unsealed by a judge after charges against Jordan were announced during a court hearing Friday in El Paso County’s Fourth Judicial Court.
Jordan’s attorney, Nick Rogers, opposed the release of the document, in part because he said his client, a third-year accounting student, would continue to be “prosecuted in the media.”
Rogers did not address the allegations against Jordan during the hearing and attempted, unsuccessfully, to have his client released from jail without posting bail.
In addition to the trash incident, a third roommate who lived with Knopp and the suspect, He told investigators that he and Knopp made multiple complaints about Jordan’s “cleanliness of the living room” and his use of marijuana and cigarettes, according to the document.
Jordan submitted a request to withdraw from the university about 14 hours before the fatal shootings. His bedroom was empty when police arrived, according to court records.
An electronic access number assigned to Jordan was used twice to enter the dorm building on Feb. 16, once just before 4 a.m. and a second time at 5.42 am.
A few minutes before 6 a.m., a surveillance camera captured someone running out of the dorm building, according to the arrest affidavit.
The warrant for Jordan’s arrest was issued on the first day of the investigation, but he was not publicly identified as a suspect until his arrest Monday in a residential area of Colorado Springs, about three miles from campus.
Friday’s court appearance was Jordan’s first in El Paso County’s Fourth Judicial Court.
A former teacher described Knopp as “a very outgoing, dynamic, present and very remarkable young man who looked like he was going to have an excellent career in music.”
The Crestone House dormitory is where the Feb. 16 shooting took place.
In addition to a gun that prosecutors say was found in Jordan’s car, authorities recently learned he also had a fully loaded AK-47, Robert Willett of the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office told Judge David Shakes. .
Jordan had a temporary job and appeared to have all of his belongings in his car when he was arrested, Willett said, arguing that Jordan was a flight risk.
According to police, the other roommate reported the shooting early on Feb. 16, leading to the discovery of Knopp and Montgomery’s bodies in Crestone House, a dormitory in a complex that offers apartment-style housing for students.
Knopp’ was a senior studying music and a beloved member of the Visual and Performing Arts department.
“He was an accomplished guitarist and a very talented musician,” University President Jennifer Sobanet said in a statement on Sunday.
Montgomery was not a student at the university.