The trial of the co-defendants in the Longmont shooting has been postponed until September

March 8—The trial of a man accused of helping a woman shoot and kill a Longmont postal worker was postponed to September because of a change of attorney.

Devan Schreiner, 27, and Andrew James Ritchie, 35, were both charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jason Schaefer, 33, Schreiner’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her child.

The judge ordered the two to be tried separately. Schreiner was found guilty of first-degree murder on Tuesday, while Ritchie was arraigned on April 10.

Ritchie was represented by court-appointed defense attorneys Mary Claire Mulligan and Beth Kelly as Schreiner was represented by the Colorado Public Defender’s Office.

But Kelly had recently been appointed a magistrate for the 20th Judicial District and had to recuse herself from the case.

Boulder District Judge Patrick Butler granted defense attorneys a new trial date over prosecutors’ objections, according to court documents.

Although the trial was delayed a third time, Butler made a similar allowance in another murder case assigned to Kelly.

“Mr. Ritchie will be at a distinct disadvantage if he is forced to proceed to trial with an attorney who is unprepared and if the court appoints a second attorney in a first degree murder case who has not had time to adequately prepare,” Butler wrote.

Ritchie, who remains in custody at the Boulder County Jail without bond, is now set for trial on Sept. 18.

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

Just two days before the shooting, Schaefer filed a request to modify parenting time, and witnesses said Schreiner was upset that Schaefer had recently started dating Schreiner’s 19-year-old sister.

On the morning of the shooting, according to the affidavit, detectives said cell phone data showed both Schreiner and Ritchie were at his Fort Collins apartment before going to Ritchie’s home in Loveland.

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At that point it appears that Richie then drives Schreiner to the Loveland Post Office and Schreiner begins his route as a Loveland postal carrier while Richie goes to Longmont and begins following Schaefer on his route.

A rideshare vehicle used at the Englewood prison where Ritchie worked as a guard was seen on camera several times following Schaefer’s postal van, and Richie’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 said.

Cell phone records show Ritchie was on the phone with Schreiner for most of the morning and that he also made three phone calls to Schreiner after the shooting.

Ritchie’s phone also contained a photo taken in Schreiner’s bathroom of a man dressed similar to the suspect who fled the scene.

Ritchie told police Schreiner talked about killing Schaefer, and that when he dropped her off for work on the day of the shooting, she said “today’s the day” and “I’ve got what I need.”

According to the affidavit, Ritchie told police he followed Schaefer in an attempt to prevent something from happening and even briefly talked to Schaefer about Schreiner.

But when asked why he didn’t try to talk to her or call the police, Ritchie said he believed Schreiner “got over it.”