LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — An inmate at the Larimer County jail agreed to help another inmate post bond in exchange for that inmate killing three people associated with his case including a witness, according to an arrest affidavit.
Joshua Anderson, 30, was already in jail awaiting prosecution for a 2022 case out of Fort Collins when deputies learned about the plot.
According to an affidavit from the Larimer County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), days after the inmate was released on bond he went to the sheriff's office to report a crime.
He claimed that while incarcerated at the jail, Anderson asked him to perform a "contract killing" of several witnesses in his case.
According to the affidavit, Anderson had previously tried to bond out a different inmate in exchange for killing or intimidating the witnesses, but that inmate recanted their story and no charges were filed.
The second inmate was released on May 30 after he contacted the bondsman provided by Anderson and was released by only posting 5% instead of the typical 10 or 15%, the affidavit says.
The inmate said that Anderson gave him a phone number to call once he was released and was told if he called the person he would get whatever he needed for the job, the affidavit says.
He was also able to provide letters to investigators that Anderson had given him that had the names of the individuals he wanted to kill as well as their addresses. The letter indicated the killing needed to be done by July 4, according to the affidavit.
The victim in the case has said previously that she was so afraid that Anderson would kill her or have her killed that she fled the state, the affidavit says.
After his release, the inmate was given a different person to contact for "supplies" for the killing. That person, Joshua Mewes, is also charged in this case.
The inmate called Mewes and set up a meeting with him which occurred right after a court hearing for Mewes regarding the possession of firearms by a previous offender. Detectives noted that during that meeting, Mewes was in possession of several handguns which was a direct violation of his active bond conditions.
On June 8, deputies located and arrested Mewes.
Anderson had already faced the following charges.
- Attempted first-degree murder - after deliberation
- Attempted first-degree murder - extreme indifference
- Extortion
- Two counts of felony menacing
- Three counts of possession of a weapon by a previous offender
- Violation of a protective order
- Violent Crime Enhancement
- Child Abuse
- Six counts habitual criminal enhancement
On June 9, new charges were added that include three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Court records indicate that Anderson is a registered sex offender. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's sex offender registry, he was convicted in another state for sex abuse of a minor in July 2016.
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