Mt. Herman Road menacing suspect waives hearing in court

Earlier in November, the bond was lowered for the man accused of threatening hikers and mountain bikers with a hatchet, who for now still remains unlinked to killings in Monument and Indiana.

Despite the bond lowering, he still remains in jail.

11 News learned in early October that in addition to menacing charges for the hatchet allegations, Daniel Nations is also facing charges for allegedly trying to get into someone's car and committing assault. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office would not release any additional information, so it's not clear where the new alleged crimes happened. The arrest affidavit has been sealed.

Nations was in court Nov. 1, where he learned he faces a trespassing charge. In court that day, the judge agreed to lower his bond from $20,000 down to $6,800. That way, it was set at the standard amount for the charges he faces.

He was set for a preliminary hearing in the El Paso County Courthouse November 29, but he ended up waiving his hearing, so the case can proceed to trial at some point.

The defense said in court for the first time November 1 that in his past, he served in the Marine Corps. They also revealed he has two young children in Colorado, arguing that if his bond was lowered, he would not try to leave since he would stay near his kids.

Nations, 31, was

was arrested Sept. 25 in Woodland Park

driving a car several members of the public had described as the same vehicle linked to a man threatening hikers and bikers with a hatchet near Mount Herman Road in El Paso County.

The threats were reported in the same area mountain biker Tim Watkins was found murdered.

To date, there have been no arrests made in the Watkins murder, and despite the questions swirling around Nations due to the alleged hatchet threats happening so close to where Watkins was killed, he has not been named a suspect. The murder investigation is ongoing.

Nations' name was also given to Indiana State Police four days after his arrest as a possible suspect in the murders of two Delphi, Indiana teenagers, Abby Williams and Libby German.

Indiana State Police (ISP) said earlier they have no information to "specifically include or exclude" Nations as the suspect in the killings of Abby and Libby. The state police announced the lack of conclusive findings to date in a news release Oct. 3, following the conclusion of a visit to Colorado by two ISP detectives.

Prior to that visit, 11 News spoke with the sheriff in the county Delphi is located, who said his office was not labeling Nations, and everyone is considered a person of interest.

Among the things investigators are working to figure out is where Nations was at the time of the Delphi murders on Feb. 13 and if he was even in Indiana. The police say they've received thousands of tips in connection with the killings, and many of the tips have included pictures.

ISP sent out the following statement on Oct. 3:

Thus far, the Indiana State Police, with assistance from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI and many other police agencies have followed up on thousands of tips related to the murders Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Of these tips well over a hundred have included references to specific persons, some of which included photos. Each and every tip has been - and will continue to be - thoroughly investigated to determine any connection to the Delphi murder investigation. Of the many tips being actively investigated, one tip was referred to the Indiana State Police about a person arrested in El Paso County, Colorado. This person, identified as Daniel Nations, was initially arrested by Colorado law enforcement on Sept. 25th and was later referred to ISP on Sept. 29th for follow-up as a potential suspect in the Delphi double murder investigation. As earlier stated, each and every tip is thoroughly investigated, as was this tip, which resulted in two ISP detectives traveling to El Paso County, Colorado to comprehensively evaluate the circumstances of this tip. While the Indiana State Police does not, as a matter of practice, provide investigative information about specific tips, an exception has been made in this instance the result of numerous media inquiries made about this particular tip. The Indiana State Police wants to remind all citizens and media, we are still actively seeking tip information related to the Delphi murders. To ensure tips are received and assigned for investigation it is important tips are referred to either 844-459-5786 or to this email address: abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com.