Loveland man arrested in connection to fatal shooting of Longmont postal worker

Longmont constabulary accidental that a antheral who is suspected of complicity successful the shooting decease of a Longmont postal employee has been arrested.

Andrew James Ritchie

Andrew James Ritchie, 34, of Loveland was arrested Tuesday night, according to Boulder County Jail logs.

According to an apprehension affidavit, Ritchie is suspected of complicity to perpetrate execution successful the archetypal grade successful transportation to the decease of Jason Schaefer. The 33-year-old postal bearer was fatally changeable Oct. 13 portion delivering message successful southwest Longmont. Schaefer’s ex-girlfriend, Devan Rebecca Schreiner, 26, was formally charged with first-degree execution Tuesday.

According to the affidavit, compartment telephone records amusement that Ritchie followed Schaefer on his message way successful the hours preceding the shooting, and that helium was connected the telephone with Schreiner, with whom helium had been successful a romanticist relationship, passim overmuch of the morning. Ritchie made 3 telephone calls to Schreiner that afternoon, pursuing the shooting.

The affidavit says that Longmont constabulary were called astir 12:30 p.m. Oct. 13 for a study of shots fired successful the 2000 artifact of Sicily Circle. A idiosyncratic wearing a dark-colored hoodie and perchance a bluish disguise was seen moving southeast from the location, according to reports to police.

When officers arrived astatine Renaissance Drive and Heatherhill Street, they recovered Schaefer with aggregate gunshot wounds, including 1 to the face, the affidavit says. Schaefer was pronounced dormant astatine the scene. Multiple mailboxes were open, indicating that Schaefer had been actively delivering message astatine the time.

According to the affidavit, surveillance video successful the country captured the dependable of 5 shots. The affidavit said a idiosyncratic was seen moving southeast crossed Heatherhill Street distant from the message truck.

An serviceman successful complaint of the Longmont Post Office arrived astatine the country of the shooting and told constabulary that it was well-known that determination was an ongoing custody quality betwixt Schaefer and Schreiner.

Schaefer had filed documents connected Oct. 11 with the courts to person parenting clip modified, the affidavit said. Those papers were served to Schreiner connected Oct. 11.

Schreiner besides worked for the Longmont subdivision of the station bureau but near successful mid-September. Shortly afterward, she began moving arsenic a message bearer for the Loveland station bureau branch.

According to the affidavit, determination was an incidental aboriginal successful October successful which Schreiner gained entree to the Longmont station bureau gathering without support and was seen going done Schaefer’s things. Schreiner near the gathering earlier anyone confronted her.

Postal Inspector Chris Lucas spoke with Ritchie, a Littleton Federal Correctional Institution employee, astatine his residence astir 8:40 p.m. Oct. 13. Ritchie initially told Lucas helium had not seen oregon spoken with Schreiner astatine each that day, and denied being romantically progressive with her. He aboriginal said helium had spoken with by telephone and that she had travel to his location astatine luncheon time.

However, the affidavit states detectives collected surveillance video and images from respective homes, businesses and thoroughfare surveillance cameras successful the country of the shooting that amusement images of Schaefer delivering message and Schreiner’s vehicle, a 2017 achromatic Nissan Rogue, successful this country anterior to, during and aft the shooting. The cameras besides captured footage of a Dodge Durango belonging to Way To Go/Enterprise Rental connected Oct. 13, according to the affidavit.

Way To Go confirmed “Andrew” does thrust for Way To Go and a Dodge Durango is assigned to him, the affidavit said.

Schaefer’s USPS message scanner came online astatine 9:30 a.m.. The affidavit said it moved southwest to the country wherever Schaefer’s message way started adjacent Clover Basin Drive and Airport Road. The affidavit said GPS information from Ritchie’s cellphone shows his telephone tracked a akin way “and astatine times appears to beryllium successful precise adjacent proximity” to Schaefer’s scanner. This continued until Schaefer’s determination was tracked to his flat successful the 600 artifact of Grandview Meadows Drive. When Schaefer resumed his message way — traveling successful the country of Clover Basin Drive, Mt. Audubon Drive and Dorothy Circle — it appeared that Ritchie’s telephone moved done the aforesaid area.

At 11:56 a.m., Ritchie’s instrumentality near the country heading north, and yet stopped astatine a Hooters edifice connected the eastbound broadside of Loveland, according to the affidavit.

In an interrogation with a detective connected Tuesday, Ritchie said helium dropped Schreiner disconnected astatine enactment and past “drove around.” According to the affidavit, erstwhile asked to clarify wherever helium was driving around, Ritchie “would not accidental without an attorney.”

According to the affidavit, detectives recovered a Snapchat representation connected Ritchie’s phone. The Snapchat featured an representation that shows a idiosyncratic wearing covering akin to the apparel worn by the idiosyncratic moving from the shooting scene. Detectives confirmed the representation connected Ritchie’s telephone was taken successful Schreiner’s maestro bathroom, according to the affidavit.

When presented with the Snapchat representation from Schreiner’s bathroom, Ritchie sat backmost and admitted helium had been successful Longmont that morning, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit besides said that erstwhile Ritchie dropped Schreiner disconnected astatine enactment she stated that “today is the day,” and “I person everything I need.”

Ritchie told constabulary that Schreiner had talked astir sidesplitting Schaefer aggregate times and that helium had to speech her down, according to the affidavit. Ritchie told constabulary that helium talked with Schreiner aggregate times connected the telephone aft dropping her disconnected Oct. 13 and that helium was trying to transportation her not to spell done with it, the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, Ritchie said that knowing Schaefer’s way number, helium took it upon himself to thrust to Longmont and find Schaefer’s motortruck and hold to face Schreiner. Ritchie admitted to pursuing Schaefer’s message motortruck astatine the opening of his way and said helium followed Schaefer for astir of the morning. The affidavit said Ritchie adjacent waited extracurricular of Schaefer’s flat portion talking with Schreiner connected the phone. Ritchie said Schreiner “abruptly told him she would not bash it and it had passed,” but Ritchie said helium believed she inactive intended to harm Schaefer.

Ritchie told a detective helium had a 15-second speech with Schaefer successful which helium told Schaefer that helium was pushing Schreiner implicit the enactment and that Schaefer needed to ticker retired for her, according to the affidavit. Schaefer responded: “I’m not acrophobic of that (expletive).” Ritchie told constabulary that astatine that constituent helium felt helium had done his occupation and went backmost to Loveland.

The affidavit said adjacent though Schreiner ne'er told Ritchie straight that she had changeable Schaefer, helium had seen the quality reports and knew what had happened. He told constabulary helium lied to investigators connected Oct. 13 to screen up his matter with Schreiner and that helium didn’t archer anyone other astir the transgression involving Schreiner. Ritchie said helium obtained an lawyer aft Schreiner was charged. He said helium didn’t person immoderate accusation connected the weapon and assumed constabulary had it.

According to the affidavit, constabulary collected 9 mm ammunition from wrong Ritchie’s Chevy Silverado arsenic evidence. The ammunition was recovered adjacent to a 1911 handgun successful the console of the pickup.

When asked wherefore helium didn’t interaction constabulary if helium believed Schreiner was superior astir harming Schaefer, Ritchie said helium didn’t cognize Schreiner was superior until Oct. 11, erstwhile she messaged him the a representation of herself dressed successful apparel akin to those of the shooting suspect, according to the affidavit. When asked wherefore detectives did not find immoderate messages successful his telephone of him trying to transportation Schreiner not to harm Schaefer, helium said his conversations to “talk her down” were ever verbal.

In a Longmont constabulary quality release, Ruth Mendonça, inspector successful complaint of the Denver Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said instrumentality enforcement agencies “committed the afloat spot of our national instrumentality enforcement resources to bring justness for Longmont Letter Carrier Jason Schaefer and his family,”

“The apprehension of the 2nd fishy successful Mr. Schaefer’s homicide demonstrates our corporate committedness to leaving nary chromatic unturned successful this probe and to prosecute justness to the fullest grade of the law” Mendonça said.

According to online tribunal records, Ritchie is being held without bond.