Lehi man sentenced for killing uncle

PROVO — They were two men who worked hard, brought joy to their families and showed compassion to strangers.

But when Colton Louder used drugs, he got scared. And when his uncle, Jeff Ackerman, used drugs, Ackerman got angry.

That fatal combination led to the February shooting that ended Ackerman's life and is sending Louder to prison for five years to life.

Louder, 25, was sentenced Tuesday by 4th District Judge Fred Howard. The Lehi man was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge of first-degree felony manslaughter. The manslaughter charge was enhanced to a first-degree felony because Louder used a dangerous weapon on or near school property.

"I've been given a pretty fair shake for everything that's happened," Louder told Howard. "I did make a horrible mistake, and I realize I need to be punished for it."

Family members expressed an outpouring of love and forgiveness for Louder and Ackerman in court before the sentence was pronounced.

Suzanne Louder, Colton Louder's mother and Ackerman's sister, recalled a "perfect childhood" growing up with her brother on their dad's farm. His mother, Carol Ackerman, remembered him as "the joy of our family" and "an all-American boy" who loved adventure.

A plumber by trade, Ackerman would buy lunch for a hungry stranger, give him money and send him on his way, she said.

But he developed a violent temper and an addiction to drugs that could turn him into a different person in the blink of an eye.

Similarly, family members said Louder was "a good kid" with a warm personality, an Eagle Scout who cared about others but struggled with self-esteem. He was excelling in a plumbing apprenticeship with his father, Jesse Louder, at the time of the shooting.

Police say he fired a handgun several times at his uncle, who had been chasing him from his grandparents' house in a Pleasant Grove neighborhood. Ackerman, 45, was hit six times. Both men had been using methamphetamine, police said.

Louder was arrested two hours later when police found him walking in American Fork.

Louder's uncle, Jeff Wilson, said his nephew had just received an $800 tax refund, and — being paranoid due to drugs that someone would try to take it from him — decided to carry his gun, which he almost never did.

He said the family was always worried about what either man might do while high.

"What we saw the day Colton was arrested, that was not Colton," Wilson said. "That was drugs."

Louder's mother said his twin sister is working with Lehi police on a program to show kids what drugs can do to even the most vibrant young person.

Howard gave an unusual order to allow family members to hug Louder in a room adjoining the courtroom after he was sentenced. They filed in one by one and emerged with tears in their eyes.

"We want Colton to know that his family loves him and forgives him," said his aunt, Annette Wilson. "We'll always be here for him."

Carol Ackerman said her grandson sent her several "heart-wrenching" letters from jail, where Louder has served 262 days. In one, he wrote, "I'm so glad you don't hate me for my mistake."

e-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com