AURORA | A former King Soopers Aurora distribution center employee was sentenced Thursday to life in prison after being convicted of murdering a supervisor in October 2021 to cover up a payroll scheme.
Dressed entirely in black, Michael Poydras, 32, ambushed his victim, Ryan Dillard, as Dillard was driving near the northeast Aurora center, according to a news release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Dillard was shot several times and declared dead after being taken to a local hospital.
Investigators later found that Poydras was being paid by King Soopers despite no longer working there and said Dillard was targeted in an effort to preserve the scheme.
Poydras was found guilty of first-degree murder after a two-week jury trial that ended July 21. An Adams County District Court Judge on Thursday sentenced Poydras to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
“This was a cold and calculated murder, committed in broad daylight for all to see,” 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason said in a news release. “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.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Alex Baker and senior Deputy District Attorney Danny Paulson led the prosecution of this case.
Poydras’ co-defendant, Jerrelle Smith, faces charges of first-degree murder, racketeering and theft, according to DA’s office spokesman Chris Hopper. A bond hearing for Smith was scheduled to take place Friday.