Judge rules defendants in postal shooting must be tried separately

A judge has ruled that the two people accused of planning and carrying out a plot to shoot and kill a Longmont postal worker must have separate trials.

Devan Schreiner, 26, and Andrew James Ritchie, 34, were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jason Schaefer, 33, Schreiner’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her child.

The Boulder County district attorney’s office elected to prosecute both in a joint case, and Schreiner and Ritchie had been set for a trial June 6.

But defendants submitted motions asking to sever their cases, saying some of the evidence against the two would wind up being prejudicial against the other and that each “appears to be placing blame at the foot of the other,” according to written ruling by Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvahill.

“There is a serious risk that some evidence that is admissible against one defendant will improperly be considered against the other despite admonitory instructions to the jury from the court,” Mulvahill wrote. “This concern is compounded here where both defendants have indicated their intent to argue, at least to some degree, antagonistic defenses that shift the burden of culpability for the victim’s death onto the other.”

Mulvahill in particular noted a motion filed by Schreiner’s attorneys that alleges Schreiner’s relationship with Ritchie was abusive and began when she was underage and involved prostitution.

“While this evidence, if admitted, would be material to defendant Schreiner’s defense that she acted under duress and lacked the culpable mental state for first-degree murder, it would likely not be admissible against defendant Ritchie,” Mulvahill wrote.

In addition, Mulvahill noted part of Ritchie’s defense claims he was trying to stop the shooting and there was a chance Schreiner might be a witness in Ritchie’s trial.

As a result of the ruling, Schreiner is now scheduled to take the June 6 trial date, and Ritchie will have his own trial starting Aug. 8.

Both defendants remain in custody without bail.

Schreiner is accused of shooting and killing Schaefer while he was delivering mail in southwest Longmont on Oct. 13.

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

Two members of the Longmont post office, upon arriving at the scene, asked police if the assailant was Schreiner, noting the two had been in a custody dispute.

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

The morning of the shooting, detectives said cellphone data shows Schreiner and Ritchie were at her Fort Collins apartment before they drove to Ritchie’s home in Loveland.

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

According to the affidavit, Ritchie then left the Longmont area before the shooting and is seen eating lunch with friends at a Hooters in Loveland.

Meanwhile, at 11 a.m., Schreiner’s own postal scanner and cellphone go to Ritchie’s home and remain stationary until about 1 p.m., with no outgoing transmissions from the cellphone.

Surveillance cameras then spot Schreiner’s SUV — identifiable by a missing hubcap on its passenger side — driving into the neighborhood of the shooting.

Security cameras pick up a person walking from the area of the SUV north toward Schaefer.

Another security camera picks up the person approaching Schaefer’s van, picks up the sound of gunshots, and then shows the person running from the area.

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

Ritche in an interview with police said Schreiner the day of the shooting said “she had everything she needed” and that “today was the day.”