A 19-year-old college student has been arrested in Colorado over an alleged murder-for-hire scheme to kill his football teammate after their friendship soured.
Jackson T. Keller, a student at Fort Lewis College in Durango, close to the New Mexico border, was arrested last Thursday on suspicion of “criminal solicitation for first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon on college grounds,” reported The Durango Herald.
Keller, who is described as a freshman linebacker on the college’s 2025 football roster, was released after posting $50,000 bail.
According to an arrest affidavit filed in La Plata County Combined Courts, the murder-for-hire plot developed when Keller fell out with his teammate, a defensive back. He first asked a mutual acquaintance to carry out the hit, the documents said, and when he refused, Keller then turned to three alleged assassins from Colorado Springs.
Keller and the would-be target had previously been friends, the affidavit said, and lived in dorm rooms connected by an adjoining bathroom. The former friend had begun locking his connecting door to keep Keller out of his room following a string of incidents, the documents said.
The victim told police officers that Keller had attempted to enter his room last Wednesday, but could not get in because the door was locked. The incident was witnessed by another friend and fellow student, Kobe McGill, who subsequently joined the defensive end in going to Keller’s room to confront him.
During the following confrontation, the victim “became upset” and kicked Keller’s TV, knocking it over on to his PlayStation, although neither device was damaged, the affidavit said.
Keller challenged the victim to a fight, and McGill told police that the suspect was holding a pair of scissors behind his back and said he would “stab anyone who came into his room to try and hurt him.”
Once the victim had returned to his own room, Keller allegedly asked McGill if he would “put a hat” on the defensive end for $500, offering to send money through CashApp after he’d “got it done.” McGill told police that his understanding was that Keller was asking him to kill his teammate.
When McGill refused, Keller reportedly told him “nevermind,” and according to the documents, McGill says he then witnessed him on a FaceTime call with three men handling firearms who agreed to “put a hat” on him.
McGill saw Keller send a $500 CashApp payment to the men, he told police, and they said they would be “on their way,” with an expected seven-hour drive from Colorado Springs to Durango.
McGill left the room and described what he had witnessed to the would-be target, who reported the incident to housing officials, who called police.
When Keller was questioned by law enforcement the next day, he denied putting out a hit out on his former friend, the affidavit said; he was booked into the La Plata County Jail later on Thursday.
In its press release, the college said “probable cause was established for the listed charges” when a search warrant was executed on campus on Friday night.
Court records show no criminal history for Keller in Colorado, CBS reported, and just a previous traffic ticket in Florida.
According to the college’s football roster, Keller’s hometown is Tampa, Florida, and his biography on the site said he “enjoys hanging out with friends, listening to artists such as Rod Wave and NBA Youngboy, and his favorite food is chicken.” He had planned on majoring in Business, the biography said.
Keller is now subject to a mandatory protection order that prohibits him from going near or contacting the alleged victim.
A spokeswoman for the college told CBS News the safety of students, faculty, and staff was a “top priority”, and said the Fort Lewis College Police Department had “acted quickly and in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies.”
“FLC’s prompt response demonstrates the strength of our campus safety protocols and partnerships.”
Keller’s next court appearance is scheduled for February 23 at the La Plata County Courthouse.
