On October 13, Longmont postal worker Jason Schaefer was gunned down in broad daylight in a driveway near some mailboxes. That night, the Longmont Police already had a suspect in custody, and new details about the crime were released yesterday, October 14.
The person arrested for the shooting, 26-year-old Devan Schreiner, was recently fired from her post office job because of a thus-far-unspecified incident involving Schaefer. Schreiner was Schaefer's former significant other and the mother of his child, and as word spread about the October 13 killing, she immediately became a suspect.
The arrest affidavit in the case quotes the Longmont postmaster posing this question upon arriving at the scene of the shooting: "Did the baby mama do it?"
The original release from Longmont Police Services states that at 12:33 p.m. on October 13, officers responded to a report of a shooting near the intersection of Heatherhill Street and Renaissance Drive. There they found a male postal worker later identified as Schaefer. He was declared dead at the scene.
The report referenced a "male suspect" who "was seen fleeing the area south on Renaissance Drive. The suspect was wearing dark clothing, a hoodie and a blue mask." An hours-long search of the area failed to turn up the alleged shooter.
Here's video of the LPS's October 13 press conference, courtesy of 9News. The event starts at around the 14:50 minute mark.
Later that day, at around 10:30 p.m., the LPS put out another alert, revealing that officers with the department, in conjunction with agents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, had arrested Schreiner on suspicion of first-degree murder. "She is the victim's ex-girlfriend," the release stated. Schreiner was booked at Longmont police headquarters before being transported to Boulder County Jail.
The department added this assurance: "This was not a random act of violence. This crime appears to be an isolated incident and an act of domestic violence."
No booking photo of Schreiner has been released, and significant portions of the arrest affidavit have been blotted out. But the document reveals that two days before the shooting, Schaefer asked a local court to modify Schaefer's parenting time.
It's unclear whether Schreiner was served with papers regarding that request. But shortly after noon on October 13, a car matching the description of her black Nissan Rogue was spotted in the area where Schaefer was shot a short time later. During the early evening, the affidavit reveals, Schreiner spoke to an LPS detective and agreed to drive from her home in Fort Collins to Longmont. The majority of Schreiner's statements to authorities are redacted in the release, but her wardrobe spoke volumes: She wore a blue face mask and a black hoodie.
The investigation into the case is ongoing, and Longmont Police Services encourages anyone who lives near where the shooting took place and has surveillance footage to upload it at this link or to phone the department at 303-651-8501.