Man found guilty in first-degree murder of postal carrier in Longmont, sentenced to life

Andrew Ritchie, the second defendant in the Longmont shooting of a postal carrier, has been found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ritchie, 36, was found guilty of first-degree murder after deliberation Wednesday for the death of Jason Schaefer, 33, who was fatally shot while on his postal route in Longmont on Oct. 13, 2021. In closing statements, Ritchie was described as the “eyes and ears” of Devan Schreiner, 28, who was found guilty in March of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting Schaefer.

“With today’s guilty verdict, the two people responsible for this premeditated and cold-blooded murder will be held fully responsible for killing Jason Schaefer while he was delivering mail,” Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said. “These two robbed Jason’s family and U.S. Postal colleagues of a beloved son, father, and friend. Since the first hours after Jason’s murder, I have been deeply grateful for the strong partnership between the Longmont Police Department, U.S. Postal Inspectors, and our team.”

During the trial, evidence was presented of Ritchie’s cell phone being tracked along Schaefer’s route, before he was seen on surveillance footage at a Loveland Hooters at the time of Schaefer’s death. Prosecutors argued Tuesday that Ritchie assisted Schreiner in making a plan to kill Schaefer, which included setting up an alibi for Schreiner and tracking Schaefer over the course of his route to inform Schreiner of his whereabouts.

Prosecutors said Ritchie also encouraged Schreiner to murder Schaefer and presented a text message to the jury from Ritchie to Schreiner that read, “You could just kill them both and make it look like they killed each other.”

According to an affidavit, just after 12:30 p.m. Oct.13, 2021, Schaefer was shot three times next to his postal delivery van, near a cluster of mailboxes on Heatherhill Street just west of Renaissance Drive.

According to the affidavit, detectives said that on the morning of the shooting, cell phone data showed Schreiner and Ritchie were both at her Fort Collins apartment before they drove to Ritchie’s home in Loveland.

At that point, it appeared that Ritchie took Schreiner to the Loveland post office, after which Schreiner began her route as a Loveland postal carrier and Ritchie drove into Longmont and began following Schaefer on his route.

A rideshare vehicle used by the Englewood prison where Ritchie worked as a guard was seen on camera several times following Schaefer’s postal van, and Ritchie’s cell phone data and GPS data from Schaefer’s postal scanner also appeared to be in the same location for most of the morning, the affidavit states.

Shortly before the murder, Schneider is suspected of parking at Ritchie’s house, where her phone remained stagnant for the next couple of hours.

Surveillance cameras then detected Schreiner’s SUV — identifiable by a missing hubcap on its passenger side — driving into the neighborhood of the shooting, ultimately parking on Renaissance Drive south of the shooting scene.

Security cameras picked up a person walking from the area of the SUV north toward Schaefer. Another security camera picked up the person approaching Schaefer’s van, detected the sound of gunshots, and then showed the person running from the area, according to the affidavit.

Security cameras then captured the person running south before Schreiner’s SUV was again seen, this time leaving the area.

The suspect in the videos was originally described as a man in a dark hoodie, wearing a blue mask. But detectives said a photo later recovered from Ritchie’s phone depicts Schreiner in a similar outfit.

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

• Policies
• Report an Error
• Contact Us
• Submit a News Tip

• 2023
• September
• 29

Most Popular

• 40,000 drivers caught on camera cutting illegally in and out of Colorado highway express lanes

  40,000 drivers caught on camera cutting illegally in and out of Colorado highway express lanes

• Construction starts on $125M, 81-acre technology park in Broomfield

  Construction starts on $125M, 81-acre technology park in Broomfield

• Parent sues Denver school board member Auon’tai Anderson in test of Colorado’s new social media law

  Parent sues Denver school board member Auon’tai Anderson in test of Colorado’s new social media law

• Discovery of Suzanne Morphew’s body raises new legal questions in 3-year-old case

  Discovery of Suzanne Morphew's body raises new legal questions in 3-year-old case

• Lauren Boebert escorted out of “Beetlejuice” musical in Denver after “causing a disturbance”

  Lauren Boebert escorted out of "Beetlejuice" musical in Denver after "causing a disturbance"

• Suzanne Morphew’s remains found in Saguache County

  Suzanne Morphew's remains found in Saguache County

• Popular Chicago restaurant Portillo’s eyeing a Colorado expansion

  Popular Chicago restaurant Portillo's eyeing a Colorado expansion

• Kiszla: Jamal Murray, strawberry Starburst and why the Nuggets don’t care if the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard

  Kiszla: Jamal Murray, strawberry Starburst and why the Nuggets don't care if the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard

• Gov. Jared Polis orders plan to keep Colorado’s national parks open in a federal shutdown

  Gov. Jared Polis orders plan to keep Colorado's national parks open in a federal shutdown

• Driver accused of hitting two parole officers in Colorado Springs is captured

  Driver accused of hitting two parole officers in Colorado Springs is captured

Trending Nationally

• Dianne Feinstein, longest-serving female US senator in history, dies at 90
• Former Red Sox Tim Wakefield, wife both battling cancer; couple asks for privacy after Curt Schilling leaks sad news
• 40,000 drivers caught on camera cutting illegally in and out of Colorado highway express lanes
• Tropical Storms Rina, Philippe may interact, causing uncertainty in strength, path
• Immunocompromised people advised to avoid drinking Baltimore water after parasite detected

Source: Read Full Article