Bond set at $10M for man accused of shooting nephew

An 8th Judicial District magistrate has set the bond for the 62-year-old Loveland man accused of killing his 36-year-old nephew at $10 million cash only.

Kenneth Piper appeared before Magistrate Jeffrey Schwartz Wednesday, just a day after he was arrested for his alleged connection to the fatal shooting at a southwest Loveland apartment Tuesday morning.

A family representative began by asking Schwartz to issue a high bond for Piper, saying she “just wanted to keep everybody safe.”

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Pring argued for the $10 million bond, citing that Piper was on probation when the incident happened and has had numerous other previous convictions. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to menacing, a class 1 misdemeanor, and in 2016 he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a class 4 drug felony, along with other various cases.

Pring said a bond that high would ensure public safety as well as any bond conditions should Piper be released on bond.

Public Defender Haley Barton merely asked for a “reasonable” bond for Piper, saying that mental health did play a role in the incident.

Schwartz said that while he understands that there are mental health issues involved in the case, “mental health does not negate public safety” and set bond at $10 million cash only.

At 4:47 a.m. Tuesday, Loveland Police Department dispatch received a 911 call that a shooting had occurred at an apartment in the 1400 block of South California Avenue, according to a release from the department.

Officers responded to the apartment and contacted a woman who said she had fled the building after the shooting. She reported that a resident of the apartment had been shot in the chest and was lying on the floor

and that Piper was still inside with a gun, according to the release.

Officers obtained a visual of the victim lying inside the residence and recognized that he needed medical aid, so they made emergency entrance into the home, while Piper was barricaded inside, “to bring the victim to safety and the aid of medical personnel,” the release states.

Thompson Valley EMS medics pronounced the 36-year-old man dead on scene. The Larimer County Coroner’s Office will release his identity at a later date.

Police reported that Piper continued not to follow commands after officers entered the apartment, but was eventually taken into custody without incident.