Pueblo man convicted of negligent homicide in 2019 accused of new violent crimes

A Pueblo man who shot and killed another man in 2018 and served three years in the Youthful Offender System is accused of new violent crimes in Pueblo.

Joseph Lollar, 23, was convicted in 2019 of criminally negligent homicide in the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Isaac Hughes.

Lollar was released from YOS in February 2022. He now faces new felony charges in Pueblo in connection to an alleged robbery in April 2023.

An arrest warrant for Lollar was issued in April accusing him of armed robbery, burglary, menacing with a deadly weapon, criminal mischief, and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.

Lollar's first court appearance in the matter was Aug. 2.

On April 17 of this year, police responded to a residence on Beech Street, according to an affidavit of probable cause for an arrest warrant authored by Pueblo police.

The victim told police she was at her grandmother's house, which she'd been watching at her mother's request. When she went to the house to check on it, she noticed an SUV parked in the driveway, the make and model of which she stated she didn't know.

The victim told police a man and woman came out of the house as she went to enter the back door. The man, who police say was later identified as Lollar, pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at the victim, said he needed a code for a safe, and threatened to kill the victim if she did not give him the code, according to the affidavit.

Lollar then allegedly grabbed the victim by the arm and pointed the gun at the back of her head, demanding the code again and repeating his threat to kill her. Police say Lollar fired one bullet into the ceiling of the residence. The victim told police she told him repeatedly that she did not have the code.

Lollar then allegedly asked for all of her money. The victim told him she did not have any money on her, according to the affidavit.

The victim told police that the woman with suspect then said something to him she could not hear, after which the pair left in their vehicle.

The victim later notified police she could identify the suspect as Lollar after coming across a photo of him while browsing local news social media pages in an attempt to identify the culprit. She stated she also found a Facebook page appearing to belong to Lollar under the name "Joseph Sanchez."

Police say security footage of the incident showed Lollar and the unidentified woman causing damage to a small shed in the back of the residence to retrieve a dolly that was inside of it. The suspects allegedly used the dolly to try and remove the safe from the house.

The safe contained firearms, ammunition, and tax documents, according to the homeowner.

A single shell casing was found inside of the residence, according to the affidavit.

What Lollar was convicted of in 2019

Lollar was previously sentenced in 2019 to six years in YOS after shooting and killing Hughes in August 2018 when Lollar was 18 years old. While found not guilty of first-degree murder in the case, a jury found Lollar guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

However, Lollar was resentenced in October 2021 to three years in YOS, with 127 days of pre-sentence confinement credit, according to the Colorado Department of Corrections. He was subsequently discharged on Feb. 13, 2022.

An arrest affidavit authored by police the day after Hughes' death stated the confrontation between Lollar and Hughes stemmed from an incident on Aug. 10, 2018, in which Lollar allegedly groped Hughes’ girlfriend.

The affidavit said Hughes later attempted to confront Lollar about the incident as Lollar sat in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck in front of Hughes’ residence. During the confrontation, Lollar fired a single shot from a pink semi-automatic 9 mm handgun, striking Hughes in the face. He then fled the scene.

Hughes later died at a local hospital.

Along with charges in Pueblo, Lollar faces additional charges in Douglas County, including possession of a weapon by a previous offender, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, carrying a concealed weapon, and a parole violation; as well as in El Paso County, where he faces charges of vehicular eluding, obstruction of a police officer, reckless driving, and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.

Lollar is next scheduled for a routine hearing in his Pueblo case on Nov. 15. He is currently being held in the Pueblo County jail on a $325,000 cash or surety bond.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Colorado man convicted of 2019 negligent homicide accused of new crimes