ADAMS COUNTY, Colo — A man was convicted of first-degree murder Thursday after he killed a supervisor outside his workplace at a King Soopers Distribution Center in 2021.
After a two-week jury trial in Adams County District Court, Michael Poydras, 32, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Ryan Dillard, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Poydras was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On Oct. 20, 2021, the Aurora Police Department was called to 1700 Tower Road in response to a shooting. When they arrived, they found spent shell casings and a vehicle that had crashed nearby. Inside, they found a man who had been shot several times, the District Attorney's Office said. Dillard was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Through the course of the investigation, detectives obtained surveillance video from the industrial park where the shooting occurred. The video showed a man, dressed in all black, lying in wait for a vehicle to pass. As the vehicle approached, the man appeared from behind a sign, ran in the direction of the car and opened fire on the vehicle as the driver tried to leave the area. The shooting occurred at 9:17a.m.
Dillard was hired on Oct. 4, 2021, to replace a supervisor at the King Soopers Distribution Center at 1861 Tower Road in the Adams County portion of Aurora. As Dillard was transitioning into his new role, it came to light that some of the employees of the facility were running a payroll scheme, the District Attorney's Office said.
Poydras had previously worked at the distribution center. At the time of Dillard's hiring, Poydras was still on the payroll as part of the scheme but no longer worked for King Soopers. He killed Dillard to protect the scheme, according to the District Attorney's Office.
"This was a cold and calculated murder, committed in broad daylight for all to see,” said District Attorney Brian Mason in a news release. “Mr. Poydras murdered a supervisor to keep a payroll scheme he was benefiting from in operation. I’m grateful to the Aurora Police Department for their investigation and my team at the DA’s Office for securing justice in this heinous case."
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