LONE TREE, Colo. — Security footage from several stores helped Lone Tree Police connect a man serving parole to the seemingly random killing of a man at the Park Meadows mall last November.
Michael Lohmeier, 73, was found fatally shot inside his vehicle on Nov. 4, 2023, in a parking lot in the area of 8585 S. Yosemite St.
James Matthew Neal was arrested later that month in Wyoming after a high-speed chase. He remained in custody in Wyoming on separate charges there, but has since been extradited to Colorado where he faces first-degree murder charges.
Court documents related to the killing of Lohmeier remained sealed until recently due to Neal's arrest out of state.
The newly unsealed arrest affidavit shows that around 12:15 p.m. on Nov 4, 2023, someone called 911 to report a possible body in a Toyota. When officers arrived they found Lohmeier dead in his vehicle and observed that the front driver and passenger side windows had been shattered. The officers noted that various personal belongings were found in the car including Lohmeier's wallet, a cell phone, and an "expensive camera," the affidavit says.
Investigators obtained video from the nearby At Home store and, according to the affidavit, the footage showed a 2016 Ford F-150 traveling at a "high rate of speed" from the homicide scene. They were able to get the vehicle license plate number from a nearby license plate reader.
A camera from a Best Buy store captured the same truck entering that store's property at 11:55 a.m. The vehicle exited that lot and was next seen entering the Macy's parking lot at 12:04 p.m. A short time later, at 12:17 p.m., a man got out of that truck and was seen entering a Nordstrom's store.
According to the affidavit, while inside Nordstrom's, the man bought new clothes and changed his shirt in a bathroom before exiting the store at 12:24 p.m.
A mall employee discovered Lohmeier's body at 12:10 p.m. when he went to his car during his break.
Investigators determined the Ford truck was stolen out of Colorado Springs and found evidence that the same man seen on video at the Nordstorm's was also seen driving the vehicle in Colorado Springs.
On Nov. 10, a Colorado Springs officer spotted the vehicle in a hotel parking lot but a woman was in the driver's seat. She was taken into custody and claimed she had "borrowed" the truck from Neal. Detectives found a prior mug shot of Neal and compared it to the security video and determined it was the same person.
The woman spoke with investigators and explained that she had "recently" met Neal and they had been hanging out over the past week. According to the affidavit, she said Neal told her he had "murdered a male in a parking lot."
She went on to say, according to the document, that Neal said he shot the man twice through the victim's window after contacting the man to ask if the man wanted to purchase narcotics from him. The woman said Neal was "not remorseful" and said that she believed he told her the story to "cause intimidation."
She said she didn't know where Neal was and said he had indicated that he planned to flee the state.
Neal has several prior arrests in El Paso County and was released on parole from the Colorado Department of Corrections on April 12, 2023. According to documents obtained by 9NEWS, Neal met with his parole officer after the killing after his mom reported safety concerns.
Department of Corrections records show that the office learned about a warrant for Neal's arrest on Nov. 11. There is no indication parole officers knew he was being investigated when they met on Nov. 9.
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