A prison troublemaker

Suspect in killing of student cited while behind bars

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 30, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More Local News

More stories »

Dennis Lee Cook was angry that other inmates had stolen from him.

So he disabled a prison smoke detector and threw an unknown flammable liquid on the inmates' cell door. As the liquid seeped under the door, Cook set it on fire, sending flames shooting into the locked cell with the inmates trapped inside.

That's just one of 28 acts for which Cook, now known as Robert Amos, was disciplined during the two decades he spent in Colorado prisons for a 1981 murder in Kansas City, Kan., a Department of Corrections spokeswoman said.

Yet Amos, who was sentenced in 1982 to 15 years to life for the murder, was paroled by Kansas officials in 2000.

Now authorities are accusing Amos of killing again, strangling 24-year-old Alyssa Heberton Morimoto in the San Isabel National Forest.

Heberton Morimoto, an employee with the Colorado Geological Survey, was found dead late Tuesday in a creek a short distance from where Amos had been camping, Park County Sheriff's officials said.

Libby Scott, Kansas parole board administrator, said Friday she couldn't comment on the reason for Amos' release because she had not yet seen his file, which is in off-site storage.

Amos was first eligible for parole in 1989, she said. He was denied that year, and again in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1999.

In 2000, his request was granted.

That year, Kansas officials were grappling with a costly spike in the state's inmate population, according to news accounts from the time.

Capacity of state correctional institutions is one of seven criteria the parole board uses to decide whether someone should be released, Scott said.

Lengthy history

Amos' adult criminal history in Kansas starts with a burglary at a Kansas City bowling alley in 1981, when he was 18.

About four months later, Amos and an unnamed 17-year-old strangled a 69-year-old music teacher while burglarizing his home. They stole musical instruments and Albert Bronson's 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass, which they later abandoned, court records show.

Amos pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and theft in 1982 and was sentenced to 15 years to life.

He was transferred later that year to a Colorado prison. According to his file here, Kansas authorities were concerned about Amos' safety because he had testified against his co-defendant and was receiving threats in Kansas prison.

Colorado Department of Corrections Spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said Amos set the fire in the other inmates' cell in 1992, while he was being housed at the Buena Vista Correctional Complex.

The inmates inside the cell suffered from smoke inhalation and their hair was burned, but guards noticed the fire before the inmates suffered any serious injuries, Sanguinetti said.

The Chaffee County district attorney filed charges of arson and attempted murder against Amos, but he was never convicted.

Sentenced increased

In 1994, Amos was charged with second-degree assault for hitting and biting two guards at the Colorado State Penitentiary. Sanguinetti said the guards were trying to take Amos to Chaffee County for court, and that he was refusing to go.

He had two years added to his prison term for the assault.

His other violations included fighting, assault, possession of dangerous drugs and disobeying orders, Sanguinetti said.

Though Amos was paroled for the Kansas murder in 2000, he was not released from the Colorado State Penitentiary until 2001, after he had completed the additional sentence for the 1994 assault.

Amos completed about two years of court-ordered supervision in Kansas after he was paroled, department of corrections records show.

On Tuesday, Amos told authorities he had been camping alone for a few days in a remote area of Park County when Heberton Morimoto went missing.

The University of Colorado at Denver graduate student had gone to the area to do mapping with a co-worker. The two split up, and Heberton Morimoto parked her car near Amos' campsite, authorities said.

Later that morning, she called her co-worker on the radio and said she had talked to "some camper." About 20 minutes after that she called again, this time screaming for help.

Heberton Morimoto's body was found late Tuesday night, partially covered with tree branches, a strap around her neck.

The Park County coroner said Friday she died from asphyxiation caused by strangulation with a belt.

Police said they found drag marks leading from Amos' campsite to the creek, and that a pair of wet shoes and jeans were found near his campsite.

Amos, 44, denied knowing what happened to Heberton Morimoto. He is charged with first-degree murder and is scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Criminal history

Robert Amos, also known as Dennis Lee Cook, was paroled by Kansas authorities in 2000 despite a lengthy criminal record, including 28 disciplinary problems in Colorado prisons.

• 1981: Burglarized a Kansas City, Kan., bowling alley, stealing tools and a camera and damaging two cash registers and seven coin-operated machines.

• 1981: He and a 17-year- old male strangled a 69-year-old music teacher during a burglary. They left the man in the bathtub, then stole his car and musical instruments.

• 1992: While in prison in Buena Vista, he set fire to a cell of other inmates while they were locked inside because he thought they stole from him.

• 1994: He hit and bit two guards at the Colorado State Penitentiary.

• Other violations in prison: Fighting, several assaults, possession of a dangerous drug and disobeying ordersSource: Kansas Court Records, Colorado Department Of Corrections.

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343 Correspondent Marilyn Robinson contributed to this report.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News