A 19-year-old Fort Lewis College student was arrested Thursday on suspicion of criminal solicitation for first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon on college grounds, according to a Monday news release from the college.
FLC student Jackson T. Keller was booked into La Plata County Jail after an investigation by the Fort Lewis College Police Department, with assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the release said.
Keller, who is listed as a freshman linebacker on the 2025 FLC football roster, was released after posting $50,000 bail, according to the release.
The murder-for-hire scheme was hatched amid souring relations involving one of Keller’s FLC football teammates, according to an arrest affidavit filed in La Plata County Combined Courts.
According to the affidavit, Keller first asked a mutual acquaintance to carry out the attack, and after he refused, he asked three unidentified men from Colorado Springs to kill his teammate.
Keller and his alleged victim had previously been friends, according to the affidavit. They had been living in dorm rooms connected by an adjoining bathroom. The target of Keller’s attempted attack had begun locking his connecting door in recent weeks to keep Keller out after a string of incidents, the affidavit said.
The teammate and alleged victim told law enforcement that Keller attempted to enter his room on Jan. 28 but could not get in because the door was locked.
The alleged victim said he was in his room with another friend – FLC student Kobe McGill – when he saw the doorknob rattle as Keller reportedly tried to enter the adjoining room.
The alleged victim and McGill went to Keller’s room to confront him, and Keller argued with his neighbor and the target of the alleged attack, the affidavit said. Keller initially denied trying to get into the other room, but admitted shortly after that he had been trying to enter the room, according to the affidavit.
The alleged victim “became upset” and kicked Keller’s TV, knocking it over into Keller’s PlayStation, but neither device was damaged, the affidavit said.
Keller then challenged the alleged victim to a fight, according to the affidavit. The alleged victim went into the hallway to fight, but Keller did not follow, and no altercation occurred.
McGill told an investigating officer that Keller was holding a pair of scissors behind his back as his alleged victim entered the hallway and told McGill he would “stab anyone who came into his room to try and hurt him.”
After the alleged victim returned to his own room, Keller allegedly asked McGill if he would “put a hat on him” – referring to his teammate and dorm neighbor – if he gave McGill $500. He told McGill he would send the money through CashApp after he “got it done.” McGill told an investigating officer that Keller was asking McGill to kill his teammate and dorm neighbor.
McGill refused, according to the affidavit. Keller reportedly told McGill “nevermind,” and said he knew of someone else who could “do it.”
Keller then received a FaceTime call from three men from Colorado Springs who were handling firearms on the call, including rifles and handguns, according to McGill’s statements to law enforcement.
Keller then allegedly asked the three men on the call – in McGill’s presence – if they could “put a hat on” his teammate and dorm neighbor. The three men agreed, and McGill saw Keller send a CashApp transaction of $500 to the men.
The men then showed Keller an estimated time of arrival from Colorado Springs to Durango – about seven hours – and said they would “be on their way,” according to the affidavit.
McGill then left the room and told the alleged victim what he had witnessed. The alleged victim then reported the incident to housing officials, who called law enforcement.
Keller was questioned by law enforcement Thursday and denied putting a hit out for his dorm neighbor and teammate, the affidavit said. Keller agreed to allow officers to look at his phone, but said he wanted to call his father first. He appeared on security footage from the interview room to be “quickly moving through apps on his phone” while on speakerphone with his father, the affidavit said.
Keller then told officers that his father told him not to answer any further questions without his attorney present.
Keller was booked into La Plata County Jail later that day.
A search warrant was executed on campus Friday night, and “probable cause was established for the listed charges” as a result of the investigation, the FLC release said.
The 2025 FLC football roster says Keller’s hometown is Tampa, Florida. A bio says he enjoys hanging out with friends, his favorite food is chicken and he planned to major in business.
Keller is scheduled for a 10 a.m. Feb. 23 appearance at the La Plata County Courthouse for a formal filing of charges and to fulfill an order to relinquish any firearms under a restraining order.
epond@durangoherald.com
