LONE TREE, Colo. — A man who was on parole when he fatally shot a man who was sitting inside his vehicle at the Park Meadows mall pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon.
James Neal was arrested in connection to the November 2023 killing of 73-year-old Michael Lohmeier, who was found dead in his SUV on South Yosemite Street near the Park Meadows Mall on Nov. 4.
Neal appeared in Douglas County District Court on Thursday, where he entered the guilty plea on charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle theft and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
He was immediately sentenced to six years in the department for the weapons and motor vehicle theft charges. He got 48 years for the second-degree murder charge. All of those will be served consecutively for a total of 60 years.
Neal was arrested in Wyoming after a high-speed chase several days after Lohmeier was killed.
An arrest affidavit for Neal 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.
Investigators obtained security video that showed a 2016 Ford F-150, later determined to be stolen, fleeing the area.
Several days later, that truck was located in Colorado Springs with a woman inside. That woman told investigators she had "borrowed" the truck from Neal. She went on to tell them that Neal told her he had killed someone, the affidavit says.
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, 2023. There is no indication parole officers knew he was being investigated when they met on Nov. 9 of that year.
