Suspect in 2015 Loveland shootings pleads not guilty, six-week trial set
A man accused of fatally shooting a pedestrian and shooting at a motorcyclist in Loveland in 2015 has pleaded not guilty, and a six-week trial has been scheduled for later this year.
On June 3, 2015, 65-year-old William Connole was fatally shot at the intersection of First Street and St. Louis Avenue in Loveland. A motorcyclist was shot at, but not injured, near Allendale Park the same day.
Christopher Parker, now 40, was arrested in March 2018 on allegations of first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection to these shootings. He's been held in custody without a bond since, while his competency to stand trial has been evaluated.
On Friday, Parker pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Chief Judge Susan Blanco scheduled a six-week trial to begin Oct. 23.
Parker's attorney Eric Vanatta said they were not raising a mental health-related defense at this time.
Investigators testified during a multiday evidentiary hearing last fall that Parker was tied to these shootings through his truck, a firearm purchase prior to the shootings and alleged incriminating statements he reportedly made online and in interviews with investigators.
These shootings happened during a spate of similar incidents that shocked Northern Colorado in 2015 — including the unsolved killing of John Jacoby in Windsor and a shooting that injured a woman while she drove on Interstate 25 about a month before Connole was killed. Parker has not been connected to or charged with the other shootings. No one has been arrested in connection to the other shootings.
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Suspect in 2015 Loveland shootings pleads not guilty, trial set
