DENVER – The Loveland man accused of being an accomplice in the killing of a Longmont letter carrier earlier this month was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder after deliberation.
Andrew James Ritchie, 34, was formally charged Tuesday with the lone count after he was arrested last week on an arrest-only charge of first-degree murder – complicity.
Court records show he is being held without bond because the count is a class 1 felony. A preliminary hearing was scheduled in the case for Jan. 13.
Ritchie is charged in the shooting death of Jason Schaefer, 33, who was shot and killed in Longmont while he was delivering mail. Schaefer’s ex-girlfriend, Devan Schreiner, 26, was arrested on Oct. 13, the day of the shooting, and charged with first-degree murder.
According to an arrest affidavit, investigators believe Ritchie and Schreiner were in a relationship, though Ritchie denied that was the case.
The affidavit says Ritchie followed Schaefer along his mail route before the shooting occurred, and Ritchie spoke with Schreiner throughout the day of the murder, according to phone records.
Other court records showed Schaefer had filed court documents seeking more parenting time and decision-making responsibilities for his and Schreiner’s child two days before the shooting occurred.