A freshman Colorado college student, who plays for his school’s football team, has been arrested in what authorities describe as a murder-for-hire plot targeting a fellow student, one of his teammates.
Jackson T. Keller, 19, has been arrested on charges of criminal solicitation for first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon on college grounds in connection with the murder scheme at Fort Lewis College, according to a Monday, February 2, news release issued by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Keller, who is initially from Tampa, Florida, plays as linebacker on Fort Lewis College’s football team, according to his athlete profile.
An investigation which involved the agency and the Fort Lewis College Police Department began on January 28, leading authorities to find evidence that Keller “allegedly attempted to persuade two separate parties to commit the murder of a fellow student in exchange for a cash payment,” CBI said.
According to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Us Weekly, Keller offered $500 to a friend to kill their mutual friend, another football player at Fort Lewis College.
But after the friend refused Keller’s offer, the friend told police that Keller enlisted three men from Colorado Springs to do the job instead, the affidavit says.
The friend ultimately informed Keller’s fellow teammate of the alleged plot, according to the affidavit.
Keller’s defense attorneys did not immediately return a request for comment from Us.
According to the affidavit, Keller’s teammate told authorities that he and Keller had initially gotten along with each other after first meeting during a mini-camp in July 2025.
However, “over the last few weeks, they had begun having issues,” the teammate said, according to police.
The teammate began locking the door of his dorm, which was connected to Keller’s room through an adjoined bathroom that they shared, after Keller “began getting upset with [him] for
leaving hair in the shower,” the affidavit says.
The teammate “said the hair was not his, but Keller was still upset with him over the hair and threw the hair at [him] and spit on the floor in his room and left to return to Keller’s room,” the filing continues.
On Wednesday, January 28, the teammate had been in his dorm “when he heard the bathroom door leading to his room rattle,” the affidavit says.
He suspected it was Keller trying to get in and went to confront him, leading to an argument inside Keller’s room, according to the affidavit.
The dispute escalated into Keller challenging his teammate to a physical fight after his teammate “became upset” and kicked Keller’s TV over, the affidavit says. However, no fight unfolded after the teammate walked into a nearby hallway, waiting for the fight.
Their mutual friend, who Keller first tried to enlist in the alleged murder-for-hire plot, told Keller’s teammate that he saw Keller “had been holding a pair of scissors behind his back and was
planning on stabbing [the teammate] if he entered Keller’s room,” the affidavit states.
After Keller’s teammate went back into his dorm following their dispute, Keller was accused of offering their mutual friend cash in exchange for killing the teammate, according to the affidavit.
Following the friend’s refusal, the friend told police that “Keller said never mind and said he knew of someone else” who could do the job, according to the filing.
The friend then saw Keller answer a FaceTime call with the three men who allegedly agreed to kill Keller’s teammate for money, according to the affidavit. Keller is accused of paying the men $500 over CashApp.
The friend told authorities that he saw the men were “handling firearms” during the FaceTime call and that “they would be on their way” to Durango, the affidavit says.
The friend became concerned and told Keller’s teammate, who then alerted campus housing officials, resulting in the police investigation, according to the affidavit.
The teammate told police that he knew Keller had a gun in his dorm at one point, as Keller had previously shown him the weapon, the affidavit says.
When a campus police officer and a CBI agent interviewed Keller, he “denied putting a hit out” for his teammate, according to the filing.
Keller was ultimately arrested and booked in the La Plata County Jail, according to police.
“I believe probable cause exists for the arrest of Keller for the charge of solicitation for first degree homicide,” the affidavit says.
The CBI said that there is no longer a threat on campus in connection with the incident.
In a statement Fort Lewis College shared with Us, the school said “The safety of our students, faculty, and staff is a top priority.”
“The Fort Lewis College Police Department acted quickly, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, to ensure the safety of our students and our campus.”
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