Shivangi Sinha
In October 2021, police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, responded to reports of gunfire. A woman told officers that her then-fiancé, John Lott, had assaulted her and then opened fire. She fled to a neighbor’s home, but he followed and shot at the house. The neighbor returned fire and hit Lott in the head. He survived the gunshot but was arrested on multiple charges, including attempted murder. During the investigation, he claimed he had no memory of the incident. A&E’s ‘Accused: Guilty or Innocent?’ episode titled ‘Violent Gunman or Brain Trauma Victim?’ explored the timeline of events and the legal proceedings that followed.
John Lott Had Sustained a Gunshot Wound to the Head When He Was Arrested
John Lott, a sales director living on Montarbor Drive in Colorado Springs, Colorado, appeared to be leading a stable and fulfilling life. By July 2021, he had not only secured a steady job but had also found love. Within just three months of meeting his partner, the couple got engaged, and everything seemed to be moving quickly and positively. However, things took a turn just two weeks after the engagement. On the evening of October 16, 2020, the couple went out to a bar where CCTV footage showed them enjoying each other’s company. But after leaving the bar, tensions reportedly escalated. According to his ex-fiancée, Lott allegedly began assaulting her and allegedly strangled her until she lost consciousness. She claimed he then forced her into the car and drove them back to their home.
Lott’s then-fiancée alleged that after arriving home, he carried her inside and continued to physically assault her. She alleged that he pulled out a revolver and attempted to shoot her. Fearing for her life, she managed to escape and ran to a neighbor’s house for help. The neighbor let her in, but she said Lott followed with the gun and began firing at the property. He then reportedly returned to his house, grabbed an AR-15 rifle, and shot again at the neighbor’s property. The neighbor fired back in self-defense and struck Lott in the head with a bullet. When police arrived on the scene, they arrested Lott and charged him with two counts of attempted murder, along with several other charges stemming from the violent encounter.
John Lott Claimed That He Had Little Recollection of the Events of the Night
John Lott was taken to the hospital following the shooting, and just a day later, he sat down for his first round of questioning. During the interview, he claimed to have little to no memory of the night’s events, attributing it to the head injury he had sustained. While police were unable to obtain any CCTV footage from outside the bar, they did recover bullet casings from the revolver inside Lott’s home, supporting parts of the ex-fiancée’s account. After spending two days in county jail, he was released on a $50,000 bond. He then hired an attorney who built his defense based on evaluations from a clinical psychiatrist and a medical examiner.
Their findings suggested that Lott had not only been wounded by the neighbor’s gunfire but also possibly sustained bullet wounds from a revolver. In his initial interview with police, he had alleged that, to the best of his recollection, his ex-fiancée had also been physically aggressive toward him during the altercation. His defense team argued that he had sustained a gunshot wound to the head inside the house, and by the time he fired shots at the neighbor’s home, he was no longer in full control of his mental faculties. They contended that his actions were the result of impaired judgment caused by the head trauma. No charges were filed against Lott’s ex-fiancée, and the couple’s engagement ended shortly after the incident.
John Lott is Being Held by the Colorado DOC Today
John Lott’s first trial ended in a mistrial after his attorney, Andrea Hall, was unexpectedly hospitalized during the proceedings. His second trial began in January 2025, where the defense maintained that his head injury had impaired his judgment on the night of the incident. His ex-fiancée testified against him again, but her version of events had several inconsistencies by then.
Of the 18 charges Lott faced, he was convicted on 14, which included one count of attempted first-degree murder against his neighbor. However, he was found not guilty of the attempted first-degree murder charge related to his ex-fiancée. The jury sentenced him to 72 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 24 years. Now 37, Lott is incarcerated at the Bent County Correctional Facility in Colorado. His first parole hearing is scheduled for March 2058, with his earliest possible release in 2084. He lost his left eye after the incident and now wears a prosthetic eye, which is fully black with a white crucifix in the middle.
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