Arrest in Ottawa County Murder Case

A man from Maine has been arrested in California in connection with a murder in Ottawa County.

According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, their agency and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of authorities in California, made an arrest connected to the shooting death of Matthew Schoshke, which occurred earlier this month in Ottawa County.

On Saturday, Aug. 12, Schoshke’s body was discovered by a family member in his Tescott area home. Schoshke’s Ford F150 pickup truck was also stolen from the scene.

Authorities attempted various investigative methods to locate the missing truck and on Tuesday, Aug. 22, information was received that led them to believe the victim’s truck may have been located in the city of Los Angeles, Calif.

KBI agents and Ottawa County Sheriff Keith Coleman traveled to California. They collected evidence from the abandoned truck and were also able to identify a suspect. On Friday evening, Aug. 25, a warrant for first degree murder was issued for the arrest of 34-year-old Robert Colson of Bucksport, Maine.

KBI agents, the Sheriff, and Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives were working to locate Colson, but prior to identifying his location he was involved in an incident at approximately 11:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 25 in Martinez, Calif. During this incident he allegedly stabbed a person while aboard an Amtrak train. Colson was attempting to escape from the train when he was injured. He was then transported to a regional hospital for medical treatment. The Ottawa County Attorney will pursue extradition efforts following Colson’s release from the hospital.

The agencies assisting the KBI in this multi-jurisdictional investigation and arrest were many. They include: the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, the Los Angeles California Police Department, the Martinez California Police Department, the Amtrak Police Department, the Contra Costa County California District Attorney’s Office, the Walnut Creek California Police Department, the FBI, the Secret Service, the U.S. Marshall’s Service, the Fort Collins Colorado Police Department, the Larimer County Colorado Sheriff’s Office, and the Kansas Highway Patrol.