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Colorado college student arrested in alleged murder-for-hire plot

A student attending a college in southwestern Colorado has been arrested and now faces felony charges in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting another student.

Jackson Keller, 19, a student at Fort Lewis College in Durango, was arrested late last week and booked into the La Plata County Jail. He faces charges of criminal solicitation for first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon on college grounds.

"Fort Lewis College Police Department and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation confirmed there is no ongoing threat to the campus community related to this incident," CBI said in a statement on Monday.

Fort Lewis College and Golf Course
A 2017 Getty Images file photo shows Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Few details about the alleged plot were immediately available, but CBI said its investigation began Jan. 28 and Keller was arrested the following day, after investigators uncovered evidence suggesting the suspect allegedly tried to pay two students to kill another student.

Court records show Keller was released on a $50,000 cash or surety bond. He's due back in La Plata County Court on Monday afternoon for another bond hearing.

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