Guilty Verdict In Big Bunny Motel Murder In Lakewood

GOLDEN, CO – A Kansas man was found guilty this week of fatally shooting another man at close range over the botched sale of a stolen car in a Lakewood motel in 2017.

Keevin Bell, II, age 34, faces a life sentence without parole at a hearing Friday, the Jefferson County District Attorney's office said.

Prosecutors said in June, 2017 Bell and his girlfriend, Cortnee Eaglen, drove to Jefferson County from Kansas City, Kansas in a stolen Jeep. Eaglen had an appointment with a JeffCo probation officer. The pair stole a Mazda in Wheat Ridge, prosecutors said, and then tried to sell the Jeep.

On social media, Eaglan contacted her friend, 25-year-old Jesse Robinson, and offered to sell him the Jeep, prosecutors said. An emissary visited Bell and gave him $200 in counterfeit bills in exchange for the Jeep, the DA's office said in a statement.

When he realized the bills were fakes, Bell sought out Robinson to get the money or recover the Jeep. Robinson was staying at the Big Bunny Motel on Colfax Avenue in Lakewood. According to prosecutors, Bell went into Robinson's motel room and, following an argument, shot Robinson in the head. Robinson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bell and Eaglin fled to Kansas, where they were later arrested by Lakewood police detectives, the DA's office said.

A jury found Bell guilty of several counts of first-degree murder; attempted aggravated robbery, burglary, and aggravated motor vehicle theft, a statement from the DA's office said.

Codefendant Eaglin pled guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, the DA's office said.

Both will be sentenced Friday. Eaglin faces a prison sentence of 20 to 40 years and Bell will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the DA's office said.

The City of Lakewood has taken action to clean up the 44 hotels and motels in town with a new licensing program. About half the homicides in the city since 2015 have taken place at a lodging facility, the city said.

Related: Hotel, Lodging Safety Rules Passed In Lakewood

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