LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — A Loveland man was sentenced Monday to 39 years in prison for the murder of William Connole – one of several random shootings in Northern Colorado in spring 2015 that frightened residents and prompted the creation of a task force specifically to investigate the incidents.
Christopher David Parker pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and faced 16 to 40 years in prison. On Monday, Judge Susan Blanco sentenced him to 39 years.
Parker fatally shot Connole about 10:45 p.m. June 3, 2015, while Connole stood at the intersection of East 1st Street and North St. Louis Avenue in Loveland.
Parker also was accused of firing shots at a motorcyclist about 15 minutes later near the intersection of Denver Drive and East 18th Street. The rider wasn't injured.
“This outcome delivers justice to a man who terrorized our community, but the irreparable harm he caused can never be reversed,” said Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen in a news release.
The shootings came on the heels of two other shootings in Larimer and Weld counties:
- On April 22, 2015, Cori Romero was shot in the neck while she was driving and merging onto southbound Interstate 25 from Harmony Road in Larimer County. She survived her injuries.
- On May 18, 2015, John Jacoby was shot and killed while riding a bicycle near the intersection of Weld County Road 15 and Weld County Road 72 in Windsor.
Law enforcement agencies formed the Northern Colorado Shooting Task Force to investigate the shootings. The task force pursued more than 5,100 leads and conducted more than 1,000 interviews before identifying Parker as the suspect in the Loveland shootings.
The two other shootings remain unsolved. Anyone with information on the shootings of Jacoby or Romero can call 970-498-5595 or email taskforce@larimer.org, or can contact the local FBI office, American embassy or consulate.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
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