No jail time for man who allegedly planned shooting at CSU Pueblo
A Pueblo man who was caught with loaded guns at Colorado State University Pueblo last year and was believed by authorities to be planning a shooting on campus will not serve jail time after pleading guilty to weapons charges on Friday.
Robert J. Killis, 25, pleaded guilty to and was convicted of one count of weapon possession on school grounds and one misdemeanor count of illegal weapon possession. In exchange for his guilty plea, three other counts of weapon possession on school grounds were dropped.
He was given a deferred sentence of four years, and five years of probation, to run concurrently.
In an arrest affidavit obtained by The Chieftain in September, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office said Killis, then 24, made terroristic threats to university staff and students and “appeared to be in a planning stage” for an active shooter event.
District Attorney Jeff Chostner said that the case was "disturbing." It would have been prosecuted more harshly, had Judge William Alexander not granted a motion by the defense to limit the evidence the prosecution could introduce to a jury, Chostner said.
"The court’s ruling did not allow the prosecution to introduce information relating to the defendant’s statements, including his threats to students and efforts to put such intent into action," Chostner said in an email.
"Therefore, we resolved the case in a manner which placed the defendant under the longest period of supervision available and subjected the defendant to a felony, should he violate any terms of probation.
"Had the court denied the defense motion, this case would have taken an entirely different route and one which would have had more criminal sanctions for the defendant. We are acutely aware of this particular risk to the public and university and would have prosecuted this case more vigorously, but for the ruling of the judge.”
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Robert James Killis told coworkers he enjoyed 'killing people' and wanted to deal with 'anti-government issues'
Killis’ threats included telling another student he was going to learn to make pipe bombs to “deal with some anti-governmental issues,” the affidavit says.
He allegedly made statements in front of other employees of a 20-hour-a-week work-study program that he enjoyed “killing people.” He also allegedly made several anti-government statements and expressed a desire to kill President Joe Biden, the affidavit said.
A coworker of Killis’ alleged to Pueblo County Sheriff's Office detectives that Killis began talking about purchasing body armor and an AR-style rifle, as well as a shotgun and a .45 caliber handgun, after he was kicked out of the university's ROTC program.
When detectives obtained a search warrant for Killis’ property and truck in September last year, they found an AR-platform rifle, a shotgun, two handguns, a bulletproof vest with steel plates and approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition, including “green tip” ammunition made to pierce body armor.
Along with the deferred sentence and probation, Killis was ordered to complete a mental health evaluation, forfeit any firearms he owned, and was banned from using or possessing marijuana, alcohol, or controlled substances.
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Gregory Hoye, director of marketing and communications at CSU Pueblo, said the university is grateful that the situation was resolved peacefully through the timely intervention of the sheriff's office.
"The University takes any and all threats to the campus community very seriously," said Hoye. "The protection of our students, faculty and staff will continue to be our priority.
"We have a long-standing partnership with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office and it is our steadfast belief that the PCSO’s actions led to a safe resolution of the events last September," he said.
He urged students, staff and faculty members to continue to be aware of their surroundings and report unusual behavior to campus law enforcement.
"One of the greatest assets to keep our campus community safe is our awareness of our surroundings and our willingness to speak up with concerns," he said.
Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at Jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: No jail time for man who allegedly planned shooting at CSU Pueblo
