CO - Tim Watkins, 61, shot to death, Mount Herman, 14 Sept 2017 #1

[Bill Carson]

He would have needed a legit photo ID to get in [the courthouse] plus go through a set of metal detectors.

No actually, you don't need an ID to get in the courthouse. Attorneys and staff have to show their ID badges in order to get in the attorney/staff entrance, but the public only has to go through the metal detectors.

So it is possible that DN attended the sentencing of his brother's killer on the morning of TW's death, left the courthouse, drove to Mt. Herman Road, and got into an altercation with TW.

 

[Bill Carson]

Here's another question--

Did DN take care of his Teller County charges when he went to court in El Paso County, or what about that?

I know his D&N (child protective services/"Dependency & Neglect") case with his children is pending in Teller County.

 

[Daey34]

Yes, the charges were all condensed and heard in El Paso county at the same time as their charges.

His only two pending in Colorado are custody and then the false identification in Clear Creek County.

Here's another question--

Did DN take care of his Teller County charges when he went to court in El Paso County, or what about that?

I know his D&N (child protective services/"Dependency & Neglect") case with his children is pending in Teller County.

 

[Niner]

Here's what I got:

Wednesday, February 21st:
*Review Hearing (@ 10am MT) - for Clear Creek County – CO – Daniel James Nations (31) – outstanding warrant is for missing a court hearing for failure to appear charge stems from a July 18 arrest alleging he provided false identification to Georgetown police, a misdemeanor. Bond is set at $500; as a condition of his probation (from his plea deal, he must submit to a mental health examination and substance abuse screening and comply with treatment plans required by the custody case. Postponed from 1/10
"Maybe" a POI in Abby & Libby’s case in IND.
Plus in Indiana these are 3 separate cases which are extraditable:
Warrant/Writ issued 5/25/17 (11/16/16) Marion County: Drug possession, paraphernalia, and driving without a license.
Warrant/Writ issued 6/5/2017 & 10/18/17 (4/25/17) Bartholomew Co. (Greenwood City Court): Driving without a license and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Warrant/Writ issued 9/29/17 (6/1/17) Johnson Co: Failure to register as a sex offender. Level 6 Felony: It carries a penalty upon conviction of a fixed term between six (6) months and two and one half (2 1/2)years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.00.
All now have outstanding warrants.
There’s an active warrant for Daniel Nations’ arrest for failing to register as a sex offender in Johnson County, according to Sheriff Doug Cox. The sheriff says his officers will have to go get him and court records say they have 21 days to do so.


Thursday, March 1st:
*Review Hearing (@ 10am MT) for Teller County – CO – Daniel James Nations (31) – re Children, last hearings were 12/7 & 1/4.

 

[Shiressleuth]

No actually, you don't need an ID to get in the courthouse. Attorneys and staff have to show their ID badges in order to get in the attorney/staff entrance, but the public only has to go through the metal detectors.

So it is possible that DN attended the sentencing of his brother's killer on the morning of TW's death, left the courthouse, drove to Mt. Herman Road, and got into an altercation with TW.

TY for the info and theories. I think TW encountered the murderer on the Trail itself, who then hid the body far off the trail half buried, rode the bike back towards the Mt H trail head and his car, getting a flat in the process (maybe even initially planning to steal it) and then hid that too. I also would not be surprised if the same person encountered Micah Lambert too. As you know she has never been found. Two people missing within 10 days of each other and close to Woodland Park. 1 found murdered, 1 still missing.

@ Niner - TY for posting DN court details. JoCo Indiana have already assigned his cash bail as $200 and surety of $1000 according to mycase.in.gov regarding his warrant and extradition.

 

[Angie3312]

Hello, First time poster, have followed the case from beginning as it happened in a place I am familiar with, my husbands family lives 20 minutes from Delphi & as kids that bridge was a place for kids & teens (then & now)-mainly to get away from the parents..hang out, fish. But it's not easily seen or something you happen to come upon, you really have to know the area, know a local who shows you..
My question is, was the July 18th incident which was at a gas station in Clear Creek County...was it an arrest or ticket/ citation/summons to appear? Was it that DN was driving & pulled over? How did this come about? I'm sure they didn't have insurance on that car (were the plates legal or expired at that time?) How did he only get the one charge ? I'm assuming there were no warrants or missing RSO alert of some kind out on him by July 18?
Can anyone tell me How do I post a photo? I have a snippet/clip from a news video that obtained a copy of the July 18 citation.
Thank you ..I enjoy reading all of your insights.

 

[margarita25]

Hello, First time poster, have followed the case from beginning as it happened in a place I am familiar with, my husbands family lives 20 minutes from Delphi & as kids that bridge was a place for kids & teens (then & now)-mainly to get away from the parents..hang out, fish. But it's not easily seen or something you happen to come upon, you really have to know the area, know a local who shows you..
My question is, was the July 18th incident which was at a gas station in Clear Creek County...was it an arrest or ticket/ citation/summons to appear? Was it that DN was driving & pulled over? How did this come about? I'm sure they didn't have insurance on that car (were the plates legal or expired at that time?) How did he only get the one charge ? I'm assuming there were no warrants or missing RSO alert of some kind out on him by July 18?
Can anyone tell me How do I post a photo? I have a snippet/clip from a news video that obtained a copy of the July 18 citation.
Thank you ..I enjoy reading all of your insights.

Welcome Angie3312.

:welcome:

Here is the current link to Abby's and Libby's thread as well:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...iberty-German-14-Delphi-13-Feb-2017-81/page16

*eta: I'm going to link your post over there, as your local insights are valuable.

 

[margarita25]

From the media thread:

http://www.koaa.com/story/36450450/...sidered-to-be-suspect-in-mount-herman-threats

This is the first MSM article about DN originally posted by Camerabug in thread 68 page 4. Note withheld mugshot.
Just adding to media thread now.

"According to police a red Chevrolet Prizm was stopped Monday afternoon due to expired Indiana license plates, this vehicle was identified in several tips regarding menacing complaints in the Mount Herman and*Monument area."

*noting the part relating to several types really that vehicle.

 

[kizzykat]

Hello, First time poster, have followed the case from beginning as it happened in a place I am familiar with, my husbands family lives 20 minutes from Delphi & as kids that bridge was a place for kids & teens (then & now)-mainly to get away from the parents..hang out, fish. But it's not easily seen or something you happen to come upon, you really have to know the area, know a local who shows you..
My question is, was the July 18th incident which was at a gas station in Clear Creek County...was it an arrest or ticket/ citation/summons to appear? Was it that DN was driving & pulled over? How did this come about? I'm sure they didn't have insurance on that car (were the plates legal or expired at that time?) How did he only get the one charge ? I'm assuming there were no warrants or missing RSO alert of some kind out on him by July 18?
Can anyone tell me How do I post a photo? I have a snippet/clip from a news video that obtained a copy of the July 18 citation.
Thank you ..I enjoy reading all of your insights.

Hi Angie!
If you can share your video link and the approximate minute mark of the video showing the citation, I would be happy to screenshot it and upload.

Or if you have it as a screenshot already, in the box when replying to a post there is a series of icons for font, etc. To the right is a row of icons containing two globes (for links) and then the 3rd icon in that row is for inserting an image. Click on that and follow from there. (I hope this is clear, running on little sleep here.)

 

[foxbluff]

Hello everyone. It took me a couple of days to read through this thread and catch up. I live in the Colorado Springs area, and I have hiked Mt. Herman several times. It is one of my favorite hikes, because it is fairly short from the parking lot to the summit, and it has a nice payoff with a wonderful view.

I hate that there is so much uncertainty about TW's murder. It makes me afraid to hike in that area. Before TW's murder, I wouldn't have thought twice about hiking Mt. Herman alone, but I won't now.

I have questions and some theories to share and I want to run some things past you guys. I'll do that in successive posts.

Let's hope LE can bring the killer to justice soon.

BBM - I'm delighted to see we have yet another local onboard here as our "boots on the ground" posters are invaluable in describing the area and helping us to check the pulse of the community.

I hope to be back tomorrow to address a couple of your other posts.

 

[Angie3312]

Thank you for the kind welcome everyone!! And for sharing my post in the Libby Abby thread.
The citation/summons begins at 1:24 says false reporting to authoritiesaniel Nations did knowingly & unlawfully provide false information to law enforcement . The address of incident is written as: 1501 argentine street (Velero in parentheses-looked it up its a gas station) https://www.google.com/amp/denver.c...9/daniel-nations-indiana-hatchet-suspect/amp/

 

[Angie3312]

Thank you, I managed to attach the full news video but it isn't accepting my SS I saved from the video. I'm still trying. Also if you notice they have a phone number of DN or that he gave them. I still am not sure if they got pulled over, or just saw & questioned ?

 

[Angie3312]

 

[ocgrad]

Here's another question: how tall was Tim Watkins?

The Indiana booking information listed DN as 5'10".

The reason I ask is that there was some discussion earlier in the thread that, since the bike and TW's body were found in different locations, that maybe the killer rode off on TW's bike. (From what I understand, the bike was located closer to Mt. Herman Rd, and the body was found off the trail further from the road, perhaps down in the canyon. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

I am about 5'9" or so, but I have little short legs: about a 29" inseam. There's no way that I can pedal a bike fitted for a taller or longer-legged rider.

I looked for but cannot find a picture that was posted of DN from the back (he was in a military uniform), and it looked like he had little short legs, too. Is it even possible that he could ride TW's bike? (Of course, he might walk it to another location.)

ETA: I found this photo of Tim and his bike on the mb forum. There's no way that I could pedal that bike, and I doubt DN could, either.

I don't know TW height, but DN leg length in photos can be deceptive because he often has his pants sagging making his legs look short. But I can imagine if he reacted in rage he wouldn't have been rational to recognize he would have trouble riding the bike and had trouble with it.

 

[ocgrad]

Okay, so you guy's have said that TW would customarily leave his home in the Monument area, ride up Mt. Herman Road to the point where the trail hits the road, and then ride down the Limbaugh Canyon trail, right?

And we know that DN was caught menacing other cars on Mt. Herman Road.

What if the altercation between TW and DN (or whomever) started on Mt. Herman Road, as TW was riding up? DN might have come up behind TW going up the road, and gotten frustrated that he couldn't get past, or whatever, and started threatening TW with the hatchet and it starts getting ugly. TW might have even hit the bicycle tire with the hatchet, causing TW to have a flat.

As soon as TW reaches the trail to Limbaugh Canyon, he starts up that trail. (I believe the trail goes uphill before it reaches a ridge where it starts the descent toward Limbaugh Canyon, is that correct?) But the bike has a flat, and TW has to ditch the bike and start running up the trail to get away from DN. Somewhere along the way, TW loses a shoe, either before or after he ditches the bike, depending on which is closest to the road. TW could be injured at this point, either from the hatchet or the .22. TW runs off the trail downhill, down into the canyon, could be further injured, TW catches up and kills him. Then covers his body with leaves and branches in an effort to conceal the body.

Based upon what you know, is this a possible scenario?

I think it seems quite like what happened. We still do not have an actual map locating the shoe, bike, and body except that the shoe was on MHR, the bike was off the trail and I think it was described as higher so the section you mentioned where the trail goes uphill before it goes down in the canyon. Some people on a trail riding forum said it could have seemed like the bike was stashed to go back for later. We do not know where the body was found. Also his Safeway card was found on the road but I don't think it was near the shoe.
Yes I think youe theory that he first encountered DN on the road is right.

 

[emptybottles]

I don't know TW height, but DN leg length in photos can be deceptive because he often has his pants sagging making his legs look short. But I can imagine if he reacted in rage he wouldn't have been rational to recognize he would have trouble riding the bike and had trouble with it.

It was downhill to the parking lot so I don't think that would have been the issue either. The pedals on the other hand would have been more of an issue since they were clipless.

Who knows when the tire went flat. The bike laid there for several days. It could have been a slow leak for all we know. Enough info hasn't been released to even guess about something like that. Keep in mind TW probably only put enough air in the tires for his body weight so if someone heavier than him got on the bike it is very likely they would have gotten a pinch flat very quickly. But first we would need to know whether he rode tubeless or tubed tires. Tubeless wouldn't have flatted easily even with low air.

 

[emptybottles]

I think it seems quite like what happened. We still do not have an actual map locating the shoe, bike, and body except that the shoe was on MHR, the bike was off the trail and I think it was described as higher so the section you mentioned where the trail goes uphill before it goes down in the canyon. Some people on a trail riding forum said it could have seemed like the bike was stashed to go back for later. We do not know where the body was found. Also his Safeway card was found on the road but I don't think it was near the shoe.

I've heard the body was found before the descent into Limbaugh.
I think both shoes were found but in different locations.
MOO There could have been 2 possible reasons it was stashed. 1. to get it later. 2. time to escape.

Yes I think your theory that he first encountered DN on the road is right.

Riding up you're going very, very slow. There just really isn't any potential for conflicts. And then how do you take that confrontation from Mt Herman Rd trailhead to the top of Limbaugh, which is about a 5 minute, 1/2 mile ride IIRC. It has a 20% grade in one spot and probably averages 10%.

Look at this track.
https://www.strava.com/activities/29602481
zoom in and go from Mt Herman Rd to the top (that's where his body was.). You can get information on the grade and distance in the profile window. Click and it will show you the spot on the map.

I'm thinking TW snuck up on DN poaching or playing with his privates. Both meant jail time. We know they didn't have money for food. And we also know DN has a history of public you know what.

 

[Daey34]

All of these theories make so much sense.

DN is 5’10” per his mugshots.

I have walked up and down Mt Herman, and walking up is very slow. Biking, I could imagine, would be really slow. I could see a confrontation if a bicyclist was going too slow, and a driver became impatient. Going down, I am always afraid because cars come up so quickly behind me. I am sometimes afraid that someone will hit me if I have ear buds playing music. Cars tend to speed thanks to the steep downgrade and lack of police presence.

As a driver, going down MTH, I am extra careful. I know how easy it is to come up on a hiker or cyclist very easily. But if someone weren’t careful, they could easily run a cyclist off the road.

Several times now, I have passed people on horseback so closely that I was in awe of their horses’ hair and eyelashes. The road is that narrow, and the extra walking space on each side is almost zero.


Another theory on the bike could be that the killer stashed the bike to throw off the search for a while longer, especially if he knew it would be impossible to pawn.

 

[Niner]

Hey!

@ Niner - TY for posting DN court details. JoCo Indiana have already assigned his cash bail as $200 and surety of $1000 according to mycase.in.gov regarding his warrant and extradition.

Thank you - I'll add that!

 

[kizzykat]

Thank you for the kind welcome everyone!! And for sharing my post in the Libby Abby thread.
The citation/summons begins at 1:24 says false reporting to authoritiesaniel Nations did knowingly & unlawfully provide false information to law enforcement . The address of incident is written as: 1501 argentine street (Velero in parentheses-looked it up its a gas station) https://www.google.com/amp/denver.c...9/daniel-nations-indiana-hatchet-suspect/amp/

Thanks for that link, Angie. I grabbed another quick SS. To the far right of his name is a box with two options, "Traffic" or "Penal" and on DN's citation "Penal" is checked off. This LE stop was at a gas station, as you said. I wonder if KN was driving when they were pulled over, hence the reason DN was not issued a citation that fell under Traffic. Maybe she was just issued a verbal warning? Or, maybe they weren't driving. Perhaps they were at the gas station and something was going on there. They are a SNAP retailer (link below). Maybe a questionable attempt to purchase, DN got angry, LE was called, something along those lines? Pure speculation. Also below DN's name where his address would go it says Transient in CO. KN probably used her IN license for ID, so maybe that raised some questions with LE as far as DN's ID? I'm curious to know what prompted the encounter with LE and how he provided false info (fake ID, invalid IN license or just lied?).

Also googling that phone # he gave I get a result that says it's a Boost Mobile # with a CO area code. Burner phone?
All MHO.

gas station store: http://www.ebtcardbalance.com/valero-corner-store-4111-snap-retailer-colorado-eld34688