BRIGHTON, Colo. — A Colorado man will spend most of his life in prison for murdering his neighbor and firing at officers in Commerce City in late summer of 2021.
Thirty-year-old Andrew Reineke was sentenced Friday to 50 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for shooting and killing Andrew Ervin on Aug. 3, 2021. He plead guilty to second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder on Sept. 20, 2023, in Adams County District Court.
Prosecutors said Reineke confronted Ervin near both of their Commerce City homes along Grape Street which led to Reineke shooting his neighbor 11 times in the back. As Commerce City police officers responded to the scene, Rieneke opened fired on one of the officers, shooting a total of 8 times in the officer’s direction, two of which were fired while the officer ran away with his back turned, according to a news release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
While hiding from law enforcement, Reineke then fired toward an Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputy vehicle. Bullets struck one of the tires and another portion of the car close to where the deputy was sitting.
Prosecutors said Reineke continued firing “at multiple responding officers in the area from behind a small wooden fence,” according to the news release.
The suspect was struck during the exchange of gunfire with law enforcement, and the defendant was eventually apprehended, prosecutors said, adding the deadly shooting happened on National Night Out, an evening where law enforcement officers engage with members of the communities they serve at events and BBQs.
"This was a horrific crime with devastating consequences,” said District Attorney Brian Mason. “The defendant murdered a neighbor, shot at multiple police officers, and put countless lives in danger. I commend the heroic actions of the law enforcement officers who responded to this dangerous scene. The defendant will now have 50 years in prison to consider his egregious actions.
