A self-proclaimed ISIS supporter was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, Jan. 25, for executing a Denver security guard in January 2017.
Joshua Cummings, a former soldier who said he supports the radical Islamist terrorist group, was found guilty of first-degree murder.
He will serve life in prison.
Prosecutors said Cummings killed Scott Von Lanken, 56, a security guard, in a brutal fashion.
Von Lanken was a former police officer, and was a pastor at the time of his death.
The women told police that they heard Cummings say, “something to the effect of, ‘Do as I tell you,’ and then he shot the officer,” Denver police Cmdr. Barb Archer said.
“Denver’s Muslim community had tipped Homeland Security officials off in late December 2016 that Cummings was ’very radicalized' after he showed up to two mosque events and exhibited concerning behavior,” the broadcaster reported.
Two sources told the broadcaster that investigators found jihadist materials in Cummings’ backpack.
“I give my bay’ah (pledge) to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and I am committed to being a soldier for the Islamic State,” he said.
When pressed, Cummings wouldn’t say if he murdered Von Lanken.
Instead, he said, “On the night in question, what I did do, I didn’t do that for the Islamic State. I did that purely and solely for the pleasure of Allah.”