Cyclist fatally shot in Windsor

UPDATE: Windsor cyclist shooting prompts FBI response

A well-known 48-year-old man was shot dead in Windsor while riding his bicycle a little more than a mile from his apartment Monday morning. It was the first homicide in eight years, and it shook the small community.

John Jacoby, a part-time caretaker with the town of Windsor and sacker at King Soopers for many years, was fatally shot while heading northbound on County Road 15, near County Road 72.

Jacoby was shot twice.

There are no suspects and no leads, Windsor Police said. Lt. Rich Higuera said police aren't releasing any evidence at this time and would not disclose Monday night where on his body he was shot.

A passing motorist discovered Jacoby's body about 10 a.m. It's unknown how long he had been lying in the road.

Higuera would not rule out any possibilities, including whether this case is related to the shooting of the 20-year-old Milliken woman, who was shot in the neck while traveling on Interstate 25 near Windsor last month.

"The first thing that came to my mind when I heard the news was it was random like the I-25 stuff," said Tony Bates, who grew up on the same block in Windsor as Jacoby and knew him for more than 40 years. "But then you hear that he was shot twice and that is not random."

Windsor police aren't necessarily enhancing patrol. Even though the shooter is on the loose, Higuera said the public shouldn't be afraid, only aware and cautious.

Bates said residents of the town, which was ranked the third-safest town in Colorado by a 2014 Movolo report and safest big city (20,000-plus population) in Colorado recently by ValuePenguin, are in shock.

"Half the town is very scared and the other half is sad," Bates said. "I went from being sad to angry, really angry, and so are a lot of other people in this town. This just doesn't happen in this town. I just feel useless because I can't do anything to find this person."

Jacoby, who never had a driver's license, rode his bike every day, Bates said. Bates said Jacoby has two brothers who live in Windsor. He texted one of them on Monday but said Jacoby's brother knew nothing more about what happened than anyone else.

Bates said Jacoby was a Windsor icon. Everyone who lived in Windsor for more than a few years knew him.

He said Jacoby "probably did more socializing than sacking at King Soopers because everyone knew him."

Bates said Jacoby missed few Windsor High School football, basketball and baseball games. Bates would regularly take him to out-of-town games, unless Jacoby was wearing his red Nebraska Cornhusker apparel.

"For some weird reason, he liked the University of Nebraska and he knew I didn't like them," Bates said. "So when I would pick him up and he had his Nebraska stuff on, I told him I wouldn't take him unless he changed, so he would change into his Windsor or Broncos stuff."

Bates said the last time he saw Jacoby was Wednesday or Thursday. Bates was leaving his job at Kodak and he saw Jacoby riding from Greeley to Windsor on a windy day and offered to give him a ride home. They threw his bike in the back of Bates' pickup and Bates took him home.

One of the last times he communicated with Jacoby, who suffered from a hearing issue since he was young, which Bates said limited his learning ability, was via a text Friday.

Jacoby said he would be at Saturday's PelicanFest Triathlon in Windsor rooting for Bates, who was participating in the race for the second year.

"He texted me that he would be rooting for me 100 percent and that he'd see me Saturday," Bates said. "I decided that at the race I'm dedicating 100 percent to Johnny."

Tom Carter, a local cyclist and member of Your Group Ride, said the murder is "disconcerting."

"We already have a lot of concerns with hit-and-runs and vehicles over gassing around us," he said. "Now are we getting shot at?"

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Carter, who used to work for the town with Jacoby, said this is especially tragic because "it's so close to home."

Sept. 29, 2007, marked the last homicide in Windsor. The Weld County district attorney cleared Windsor Police Chief John Michaels in the shooting death of 68-year-old Ed Cavaliere of Windsor, who shot at officers who contacted him after he took candy from a grocery store.

One officer was struck four times, three times in a protective vest. At the time, nothing like that had happened in the 120-year history of the town, the Windsor Beacon reported.

Katie de la Rosa covers breaking news and transportation. Follower her on Twitter at twitter.com/katieoftherose.